Canada’s tourism industry welcomed a new minister of tourism and a returning minister of transport yesterday, then urged the cabinet members to continue to work to help the industry emerge from the pandemic.

Omar Alghabra was returned to the post of Minister of Transport in the new Liberal cabinet, having been initially named to the post earlier this year, while Randy Boissonnault took the oath of office as Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, one of only two Liberals elected in Alberta in September.

The Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) stated that it was “extremely grateful” to see the re-introduction of a dedicated Ministry for Tourism – “a clear acknowledgment of the importance of our industry to Canada’s overall economic growth and future prosperity for all Canadians,” adding, it was looking forward to working with Boissonnault “to ensure we will achieve the goal of rebuilding Canada’s travel economy and regaining our leading competitive position in the global tourism market.”

ACTA

ACTA said that it is eager to continue working with both new and returning ministers, including such in such portfolios as finance, economic development and foreign affairs, and will “begin our advocacy immediately with personal letters going out today to each minister, explaining key points and priorities for our sector.”

Those priorities, said ACTA president Wendy Paradis, include:

• The extension of financial support to independent travel agents and furloughed travel agency employees
• The immediate roll-out of the new Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program
• The easing of the “avoid all cruise” travel advisory for fully vaccinated travellers
• The removal of the pre-departure molecular COVID-19 test for fully vaccinated travellers returning to Canada.

“While we were pleased to see several measures take place last week that will ease the way for travel to resume, there is still work to be done on several fronts,” she added.

NACC

The National Airlines Council of Canada, which represents Canada’s largest national and international carriers (Air Canada, Air Transat, Jazz Aviation and WestJet) joined ACTA in calling for a quick end to mandatory pre-departure PCR testing for fully vaccinated travellers coming to Canada as of Oct. 30, adding that “In May, the government’s own COVID-19 Testing and Screening Expert Advisory Panel recommended the removal of pre-departure PCR testing for fully vaccinated passengers, recognizing that testing at both departure and arrival is excessive.”

Steps must also be taken to enable children under 12 to be exempt from de-facto home quarantine upon returning to Canada, it added.

“Decisions made by the federal government in the coming weeks and months will continue to directly impact the future of Canadian aviation, our employees, and the communities we serve,” said NACC president and COO Mike McNaney, adding, “A strong collaboration across government will be needed to ensure Canada’s aviation sector maximizes its economic, social and environmental sustainability potential.”