Canadian Travel and Tourism Industry Leaders Urge Government to Implement a Balanced Approach to Travel and Border Measures

All travel guidance should reflect progress made on vaccination and testing

OTTAWA, ON, Dec. 15, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - Members of the Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable ("The Roundtable") are calling on the Prime Minister and the Government of Canada not to introduce additional blanket, restrictive border and travel measures and to continue to focus on more meaningful interventions to ensure Canadians are protected throughout this pandemic, like testing and vaccination.

Travel bans and border restrictions are ineffective tools to halt Omicron as the variant has already taken hold in Canada. Introducing additional and overly restrictive travel measures at this time is not rooted in science, does little to stop the spread of the Omicron variant in Canada and creates an enormous amount of harm to an industry already on its knees. Closing borders and preventing travel is simply not the solution.

Over the past 20 months, the Canadian travel and tourism sector has worked hand-in-hand with government to ensure the safety of Canadians and those travelling to Canada. The sector remains one of the safest internationally; all air passengers must be fully vaccinated, all passengers have tested negative for COVID-19 prior to travel, and all are tested a second time upon arrival. Canada is the only country in the western world to test travellers twice. No other activity in Canada can claim this degree of scrutiny, and no other country in the Americas or Western Europe maintains this level of precaution.

Leaders in the Canadian travel and tourism space will continue to work with government on providing meaningful solutions that protect public health and safety. To that end, the Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable strongly supports any government decision to increase vaccination rates, ramp up booster campaigns, and ensure more Canadians have access to rapid at-home antigen tests. These common-sense measures will be incredibly helpful in protecting all Canadians against the most serious effects of COVID-19 and halting its spread.

About the Canadian Tourism Roundtable

The Canadian Tourism Roundtable is a cross-Canadian coalition of leaders in the tourism and travel sector ? including representatives from airports, airlines, hotels, and chambers of commerce across the country ? committed to working together to restart the sector smoothly and safely. Travel and Tourism is a $102 billion sector, employing millions of Canadians across the country and accounting for 2.1% of the country's gross domestic product. It advocates for a safe and prosperous tourism and travel sector across Canada. 

SOURCE Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable