The uncertain recognition of Canadian vaccinations by other countries, its own out-of-date travel advisories, and complicated testing protocols for children are hurting travel from this country, says ACTA, which is calling on the federal government to “urgently address” the issues to ease their impact on Canadian travellers and thereby help mitigate the damage to the tourism businesses that serve them.
Firstly, the association representing travel agencies, says that global recognition of vaccinations is essential to recovery from the pandemic and that government must work to ensure Canadians’ vaccinations are recognized internationally.
Vaccines
To ensure rapid and broad vaccination, ACTA notes that the Canadian government promoted mixed vaccinations and the use of the AstraZeneca agent. However, as a result, many Canadians are unable to travel abroad since some foreign health authorities do not recognize the mixing of vaccination brands, or the use of the AstraZeneca agent.
To address these concerns, ACTA is asking the federal government to:
• Plan coordinated national proof-of-vaccination certificate program, which must follow global best-practices to ensure broad recognition. Preferably, the program would be developed multilaterally with countries frequented by Canadian travellers.
• Continue engaging with foreign governments to ensure that Health Canada-approved vaccination schedules and World Health Organization-approved vaccination agents are recognized globally. This includes immediate and aggressive diplomacy to ensure the upcoming US traveller policy does not prohibit the entry of Canadians based on mixed vaccination status.
Travel advisories
Equally as important to recovery as vaccine acceptance, says ACTA, is the government reverting to country-specific risk-based travel advisories for fully vaccinated travellers.
Canada’s global “avoid non-essential” and “avoid all cruise ship” travel advisories have been in effect for over 18 months and have not been updated in the current context of broad vaccination, says the association, which declares: “Now that safe and highly effective vaccinations against COVID-19 are broadly available, Global Affairs Canada should update its global travel advisory.”
ACTA says it supports a phased-in approach and proposes creating two streams of advisories:
• The global travel advisory is removed for fully vaccinated travellers, recognizing the protection offered by vaccination. Country-specific advisories are reinstated based on risk
• For unvaccinated travellers, the global travel advisory continues as safety concerns for these individuals remain.
This approach should also apply to cruise travel, ACTA continues, citing the adoption by cruise lines in the past few months of strict biohazard protocols that have proven that safe operations are feasible.
As such, Global Affairs Canada should modify the cruise travel advisory for fully vaccinated travellers on cruise lines that have adopted strict biohazard safety protocols, ACTA says, adding, the advisory would remain as-is for unvaccinated travellers.
Testing children
ACTA also proposes a change to the post-arrival testing regime for children for whom vaccinations are unavailable, which currently requires children under 12 to undertake several molecular COVID-19 tests and go through a period of isolation, which poses a significant barrier to family travellers.
These children, advises ACTA, should only be tested prior to travel and upon arrival, with the third test and the period of isolation removed. It adds, “This is a prudent and cautious approach that removes barriers to family travellers while preserving community safety.”