The town of Gananoque, dubbed “the Gateway to the 1000 Islands”, is recognized as one of Eastern Ontario’s most stunning waterfront communities, and is centrally located between urban centres such as Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Syracuse, New York. Just minutes away from the US border the town has high hopes that the easing of COVID restrictions will bring more tourism to the area.
Whether travellers arrive by land, water, or air, those who are fully vaccinated will no longer need a valid pre-entry test as of April 1 at 12:01 a.m., the Government of Canada announced earlier this month.
“I think it will be a great season as we open the doors,” said Gananoque Mayor Ted Lojko.
“I think people have been locked up long enough over the last two years and at this point people want to get out and enjoy Gananoque and Ontario.”
Lojko said he believes that as the tests are no longer required for people who are fully vaccinated, more people will be crossing the border this coming tourism season.
Allowing fully vaccinated travellers to cross into Canada and no longer needing to provide valid pre-entry tests is a “good thing,” said Lojko, adding that as the tourism season is upon us it will allow tourists from the US and other countries who have been fully vaccinated to come over without being continually tested, and will also allow people to travel back and forth more easily.
While people who are fully vaccinated arriving to Canada are not required to provide a pre-entry test, they may need to take a COVID-19 molecular test on arrival if selected for mandatory random testing, but will not be required to quarantine while awaiting a test result, federal officials said.
“As far as the borders opening up, I’m very encouraged that people will be moving more freely across the border to come see family and friends but also exploring the area and hopefully patronizing a number of our businesses to get back to pre-pandemic levels,” said Township of Leeds and the Thousand Islands Mayor Corinna Smith-Gatcke.
Like Lojko, Smith-Gatcke said she expects that this tourism season will see an influx of travellers, as many people have been restricted for so long and are now looking for “adventure and looking for something different, a change of scenery.”
While Smith-Gatcke expects more travellers to cross the border, she said she hopes local residents will continue to explore the region and continue to support local businesses in the area, as that is what many retailers relied on throughout COVID-19.
A challenge that comes with the tourism sector coming back after COVID-19 pandemic restrictions is going to be finding people to work in the hospitality and tourism sectors again.
“Hopefully with the big surge in people returning we can complement that with people to serve them,” said Stewart.
He said he’s already started to see a fair number of travellers from the United States just in the last few weeks.
Travellers who are partially vaccinated or unvaccinated, who are currently allowed to travel to Canada, will have to continue following pre-entry testing requirements, federal officials noted, adding that unless exempt, all travellers five years and older who are not fully vaccinated will have to provide proof of an accepted type of pre-entry COVID-19 test result.
All travellers are required to submit mandatory information through the ArriveCAN app or website before arriving in Canada.