Tourism operators in Victoria eager for international borders to reopen
Tuesday was the first day British Columbians could travel anywhere in the province on vacation. But Victoria’s Inner Harbour — normally a mecca for summer tourists — remained quiet, with few folks from the mainland taking advantage of their new freedom.
Up island, however, Tofino was already feeling the onset of recreational travellers from the mainland, according to Samantha Hackett, the manager of the Long Beach Lodge Resort.
"We have more arrivals today than what we expected," said Hackett. "This is definitely the opening of our summer season, we have higher occupancy than we've had since last November."
Meanwhile, BC Ferries says with good weather in the forecast and no travel ban in place, it has added more sailings for the weekend, as it expects it will be busy.
"Not only is it supposed to be sunny, but it's also Father’s Day, so many people will probably be wanting to visit with their family and friends," said Deborah Marshall, spokesperson for BC Ferries.
But in Victoria, Brooke Harris, with the Inn at Laurel Point hotel, says urban centres aren’t anticipating the same demand as destinations like Tofino.
What the tourism industry in the city really needs is international tourists to return before things return to any semblance of how they were pre-pandemic, says Harris.
"Being the proximity that we have to Washington state and that side of the border, it’s huge," said Harris. "(International travel) is a huge part that we're missing. So we're quite anxious to see those borders open when it's safe to do so."
So far, no date has been set for when the Canada-U.S. border will reopen for tourism. But on Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is meeting with all the premiers to get their feedback on the issue.
B.C. Premier John Horgan addressed that upcoming meeting on Tuesday, during a press conference with Western Canadian premiers.
"There’s absolute consensus that we want to get back as quickly a possible to whatever normal will be, but we also expect the Federal Government to be leading on this question," said Horgan.
For Victoria’s tourism industry there seems to be consensus that a safe reopening of international borders is needed sooner rather than later in order to turn flagging fortunes around.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.