The price just posted for this flight to Western Canada is very reasonable. We really want to click on the “Book” button. But now, the situation with COVID-19 is not really rosy there, borders between the provinces are closed. We hesitate.
However, campgrounds and hotel rooms are rapidly taking off. If we do not reserve immediately, do we not risk finding ourselves in the water when the sanitary situation improves?
“Is it time to get started on discounts and reservations?” Unfortunately, there is no right answer, ”drops Nicolas Ryan, director of public affairs at CAA-Quebec.
Tourism promotion organizations are not of much help in such a decision. They are caught between a devastated tourist industry that is trying to survive and particularly severe health regulations.
In Alberta, tourism revenues are down 48% in 2020 from the previous year. The unemployment rate for employees in this sector is twice that of the economy as a whole.
Despite this, Travel Alberta cannot afford to invite Canadians from other provinces for a short visit. “With the latest guidelines encouraging us all to stay close to home, we are encouraging Albertans and visitors to adhere to the restrictions so that they can soon explore the province safely,” says Travel Alberta communications manager Deborah Spence, in an email sent to Press.
For the sake of our tourism partners in the province, we hope that the current sanitation measures and the vaccination campaign open the door to more freedom in the summer for Albertans and other visitors.
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Deborah Spence, responsable des communications de Travel Alberta
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If the restrictions are severe in Alberta, they are even more so in British Columbia, which has completely closed its borders and which even prohibits travel between some of its regions.
In Ontario, the borders with Quebec and Manitoba have also been closed. “The province continues to follow the advice of the province’s chief medical officer of health, other health experts and local public health chapters to determine when, and if, it is safe to lift these measures,” said in a statement. e-mail Dakota Brazier, press secretary to the Minister responsible for tourism in Ontario, Lisa MacLeod. We continue to work with our tourism sector to see how to facilitate the reopening and welcome visitors when it is safe to do so. ”
And in Quebec?
Even for travel within Quebec, uncertainty reigns. For residents of red zones, such as Montreal, it is not allowed to travel to yellow zones, such as the Gaspé and the Magdalen Islands, popular tourist destinations.
At CAA-Quebec, we show “cautious optimism”. “We can be relatively confident, with the vaccination campaign going very well in Quebec at the moment and the cases which seem to be decreasing,” declares Nicolas Ryan. We seem to have avoided a third wave as massive as in Ontario or Alberta, but it is not a game that is won. ”
For the other provinces, we can still “give ourselves the right to dream”. “We all can’t wait to go on a trip, get on a plane, get on our cars and leave, hair blowing in the wind, in a convertible. But what’s important right now is to remind people that there are still bans. ”
Thus, the people who were planning to leave soon in road trip west may collide with the Ontario border. “Someone who is in Ontario and has no business there is liable to quite expensive fines,” recalls Nicolas Ryan.
Keep yourself informed
For now, the best strategy is to keep abreast of the latest developments in the various provinces. It is also to scrutinize cancellation policies and to take out cancellation insurance if necessary.
This is where travel counselors can come in handy. “People have become more independent when it comes to booking travel: booking online is pretty easy,” says Ryan. Now, the role of the travel advisor makes sense by having all the information required. ”
Risk tolerance is obviously very different from person to person. One person may be willing to lose a small deposit, not another. The timing of travel also matters: a trip in August is more likely to happen than the same trip at the end of May.
People are really looking forward to traveling again. So much so that only 60% of CAA-Quebec customers who booked with Air Canada have requested a refund so far. The other customers still have a travel credit in their possession. “For them, it’s a way of relating to the fact that there is an imminent trip,” says Nicolas Ryan.
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