COVID-19 TAKES NATIONAL TOURISM WEEK CELEBRATIONS VIRTUAL
Subdued celebrations amidst global pandemic during annual week honouring Canada’s tourism operators
The Voice of Canada News:
OTTAWA – Tourism Week, running from May 24-30, 2020, is an annual week-long national recognition of the contributions that Canada’s typically-vibrant tourism sector makes to the economy and our communities. However, due to the global COVID-19 health pandemic, the sector has been decimated with no return to normalcy in sight and celebrations have been damped and moved online.
“There is no doubt that Tourism Week looks different this year. What is typically a time for us to come together and celebrate our growth and achievements, is now a time for us to come together while we face uncertainty and take a hard look at what happens next for a sector that was first-hit from the pandemic and will likely be the last to recover,” said Charlotte Bell, President and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC). “The sector is comprised of mainly small and medium-sized businesses that are crucial employers in their communities, and the pandemic has left them in a very difficult situation. Prior to COVID-19, tourism was responsible for 1 in every 11 jobs in Canada and contributed over $102 billion to the Canadian economy on an annual basis – a significant economic engine for Canada.”
As an increasingly growing sector, the Government of Canada recognized the need to support and invest in tourism and travel through the launch of the new Tourism Growth Strategy in the 2019 Budget as well as including Tourism as Canada’s 7th Economic Strategy Table.
“Our sector is a crucial part of the Canadian economy, including hotels, airlines, airports, attractions, destination marketing organizations, meetings and conventions, festivals and events, campgrounds and more who operate across the country and contribute greatly to local economies. The worry now is that without a clear and robust recovery plan to restart the travel economy, many businesses will not make it through the crisis,” added Bell. “A large segment of our industry is seasonal, with the vast majority of businesses making their year’s worth of revenue between May and September. With the 2020 season diminishing and perhaps not reopening in time due to distancing measures and border closures, seasonal and other tourism businesses will lose most, if not all of their entire year’s revenues.”
This is why TIAC is urging federal and provincial governments to consult and collaborate with us in developing much-needed recovery support and thoughtful measures for reopening the travel economy safely and help incentivize travel again as soon as it safe to do so. Canada simply cannot afford to lose the tourism industry.
“For Tourism Week, we’re taking our celebrations virtual with regional Town Halls and a suite of digital tools ranging from social media posts to Tourism Week Virtual backgrounds for Zoom calls,” said Bell. TIAC invites all Canadians and tourism stakeholders to join together as we highlight our industry’s contributions to the Canadian economy and employment, and work together towards a safe recovery.
