Vancouver Island tourism reopening plagued by labour shortages
The clickity-clack of horse hooves is a sound that hasn't been heard much in downtown Victoria in the past year and a half, until this past weekend. But now that many COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted and Canada-wide travel is encouraged, Tom Walker with Victoria Carriage tours says business has picked up.
It was still only about 25 per cent as busy over the Canada Day long weekend as it was pre-pandemic, but that’s an improvement over last summer, according to the operator.
"Now that they've lifted the restrictions, people really do want to come out and start spending their money," said Walker on Tuesday.
Whale watching was also relatively busy over the long weekend – more active, in fact, than any other weekend during the pandemic.
Still, Ian MacPhee with Prince of Whales Whale Watching says it was less than half as busy as pre-COVID times because there aren't international tourists who are vital to their customer base.
"Well, we'll never get back to pre-pandemic levels until the taps are fully opened, and the water gushes out – and that’s coming across the borders," said MacPhee.
Big hotels in the capital also faired relatively well over the weekend, with occupancy rates of approximately 75 per cent in Victoria. But again, international tourists are badly needed, said Paul Nursey, head of Destination Greater Victoria.
"Business is roughly twice as good as it was last year, but down roughly 40 per cent compared to a normalized year," said Nursey.
Meanwhile, in smaller resort towns like Tofino, hotels, beaches and restaurants were packed.
"As busy as any summer weekend ever, I would say," said Charles McDiarmid with the Wickaninnish Inn.
"Our numbers for brunch at the Point restaurant were the second busiest numbers we've ever had," he said.
HELP WANTED
While Tofino was decidedly more busy than Victoria, there was one constant everywhere — a shortage of staff at tourism businesses to meet growing demand.
"Now we have all the visitors we could possibly have and we're looking for some great people to help take care of them," said McDiarmid.
The situation was similar in Victoria.
"Labour shortages continue to plague the hospitality industry. People have left the industry seeing what's gone on," said MacPhee.
Walker says his horse carriage business has struggled to retain some of its employees during the pandemic.
"Bringing back some of our old employees didn't work out very well," said Walker, noting the challenges faced by an industry with hours that were severely reduced over the past 16 months.
The business would be able to put one more carriage on the streets if it had more employees, and on Tuesday it was training a new staff member — hoping to be able to harness the increasing demand created by more tourists descending on Victoria.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
A newspaper says video of Prince William and Kate should halt royal rumour mill. That's a tall order
Prince William and his wife Catherine have been filmed at a farm shop near their Windsor home, The Sun newspaper reported -- the first footage of Kate since she had abdominal surgery for an unspecified condition two months ago.
'You ask for your money, they disappear': Ontario man loses $17K to AI crypto scam
A Toronto man is spreading the word of a cryptocurrency scam that lures victims using AI-generated news sites after he lost $17,000 in investments.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
High thoughts: The habits of Canadian cannabis users are revealed in a new StatCan report
Statistics Canada has conducted a series of surveys to measure the impacts of legalized cannabis since the Cannabis Act took effect in 2018. The latest one, the 2023 National Cannabis Survey, sheds light on users' preferences and habits last year.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Trump says Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and their religion
Former U.S. president Donald Trump on Monday charged that Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and hate 'their religion,' igniting a firestorm of criticism from the White House and Jewish leaders.
Toronto family doctor who called patient's body 'perfect' suspended for 3 months: tribunal
A family doctor in Toronto has been suspended for three months after a disciplinary tribunal found that he failed to follow proper protocols while examining a patient's breasts and made inappropriate comments about her body.
Freddie Mercury's home is on the market for first time since 1980 minus his 'exquisite clutter'
Freddie Mercury's sanctuary in London, where he lived the last decade of his life, is on sale for the first time in nearly half a century -- minus his "exquisite clutter."
'The lost season': Winter comes to a close as Canada's warmest on record
The warmest winter on record could have far-reaching effects on everything from wildfire season to erosion, climatologists say, while offering a preview of what the season could resemble in the not-so-distant future unless steps are taken to cut greenhouse gas emissions.