ACTA wants to know: Can you pay the piper? The agent association is launching a survey today to assess the retail industry’s capacity to pay back government loans issued during the pandemic, which currently come due Dec. 31.

With the aim of advocating for federal government pandemic loan relief, the survey will specifically assess travel and tourism businesses ability to repay CEBA, RRRF, and HASCAP loans by asking host agencies and independent travel agents to share not only their current debt level but confidence level in being able to repay government loans by the end of the year.

ACTA says tight repayment terms are now impeding travel business recovery across Canada.

“We are also seeking information on preferred solutions for repayment, including increased loan forgiveness, extended repayment deadlines, and modification of loan terms,” said Wendy Paradis, ACTA President.

HASCAP loan repayment dates vary depending on the terms individual travel businesses would have established with their lending institution. The loans were made available to businesses during the pandemic by Canadian lending institutions and are 100% guaranteed by the Government of Canada.

“Our members and the travel industry as a whole continue to experience a very slow pace of financial recovery due to pandemic debt incurred. Escalating operational costs and unpredictable inflation are also a significant additional burden and making it impossible to repay federal loans by the current deadline,” said Paradis.

“We believe that with the first two financial quarters of 2023 now behind them, travel agencies, host agencies, and Independent Travel Advisors have timely data and perspective to share with respect to their debt levels, confidence in their ability to repay the federal loans, and preferred public policy solutions to assist their recovery,” she added.

ACTA will aggregate the responses but will not reference individual travel businesses.

The survey is open to all travel agencies, host agencies, and independent travel agents. Deadline for completion is Friday, July 28 at 3 p.m. EST. To take participate, click HERE.