Toronto –
The travel industry is urging the federal government to remove the COVID-19 PCR testing requirements for fully vaccinated travellers entering or returning to Canada.
The Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable, made up of leaders from the travel and tourism industry, sent an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling for an end to the “unnecessary” testing requirements as well as the federal government’s advisory against non-essential international travel.
“It’s time to get back to business and back to travel,” Beth Potter, who is the president and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, told CTV News Channel on Tuesday.
The federal government strengthened travel restrictions last December amid the rise of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Currently, all travellers seeking to enter Canada must provide proof of a negative molecular test, such as a PCR test, regardless of vaccination status. Travellers may also be randomly subjected to another COVID-19 test upon arrival. In addition, the feds are currently advising against all non-essential travel outside Canada.
Wendy Paradis, president of the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies, said the travel restrictions have been “catastrophic” for the industry.
“We had seen a surge in bookings starting in the fall and then they disappeared with the Omicron variant,” she told CTV News Channel. “But ever since the variant has peaked, there has been a surge in demand for bookings. Canadians are ready to travel.”
The roundtable says Canada is lagging behind other countries that have already removed their COVID-19 travel restrictions, such as the U.K., Denmark, Switzerland, Ireland and Norway. Paradis says some international tourists are choosing to avoid Canada because of the burdensome testing requirements.
“That really is a challenge for our travel and tourism industry,” Paradis said. “They are choosing countries other than Canada because we now have a reputation that we are a closed country and we as an industry and the government need to work together to really change that message to the world.”
The federal government is set to make an announcement about COVID-19 measures at the border at 1 p.m. on Tuesday. Last week, CTV News reported that the feds have plans to end the PCR testing requirements for fully vaccinated travellers by the end of this month and instead allow travellers to show proof of an antigen test, which is a much cheaper type of test with a quicker turnaround time.
The U.S. also allows travellers to use antigen tests for pre-departure testing. Potter believe it would be a “good first step” if Canada follows suit.
“We can live with that for a little while. We would like to see it go away eventually. But certainly, it would be a good first step into making travel easier for all,” she said.
