The Tourism Industry Association of Ontario says the strike by workers at LCBO outlets in the province is hurting its tourism and hospitality businesses while union negotiations with the government drag on. Moreover, visitor experiences are being affected, says TIAO.

The association says data from its member survey during the first week of the strike shows that the LCBO strike is affecting the operations of 35% of respondents, with food and beverage (60%), Northern resource-based tourism (71%), and culinary tourism (50%) sectors reporting the greatest impact to business operations.

Common challenges reported include limited product availability, slow fulfillment and delivery times, restocking capacity (both for larger operators requiring wholesale quantities and for small operators unable to order large wholesale quantities), and impacts to the visitor experience.

Supply chain disruptions to beverage alcohol are adding to challenges that many businesses are already facing around high operational costs and labour shortages. With the summer season being a peak period of visitation for the tourism industry, TIAO is concerned about worsening impacts to the small businesses that make up 90% of the industry.

Andrew Siegwart, President and CEO of TIAO, said, “The disruption to the supply chain is impacting a large percentage of tourism businesses that sell alcohol as part of the visitor experience – from restaurants and bars to culinary tourism, to hunting and fishing lodges in Northern Ontario. Tourism businesses are not able to put forward the best visitor experience during the height of the season.

“And although we are seeing an uptick in direct retail sales at our craft breweries, wineries, cideries, and distilleries as a result of the strike, these businesses are also losing substantial sales through their LCBO channels. Those lost sales ultimately affect their bottom line and potentially their current and future capacity to offer compelling on-site visitor experiences.”

Added Siegwart, “While the LCBO will be re-allocating personnel to better support businesses in accessing the products they need, TIAO is urging all parties to continue negotiations and come to a resolution to end the labour dispute.”