COVID-19: Alberta Tourism and Hospitality Leaders Call for Travel Restrictions to Be Relaxed | The Canadian News

As the COVID-19 pandemic progresses, and with another winter season just around the corner, Alberta’s hospitality and tourism industry leaders gathered at the Mount Norquay Ski Resort on Tuesday afternoon. tomorrow to make a call to Ottawa.

The Canada Travel and Tourism Roundtable is calling on the federal government to remove the requirement that fully vaccinated travelers from outside of Canada produce a negative PCR test.

In some cases, the tests can amount to more than $ 200.

“It’s nice to see restrictions on land and air border locations lifted, but as we’re talking about today, it’s still a bit cost-prohibitive right now,” said Darren Reeder, advisor to the board of the Alberta Tourism Industry Association. .

According to the Round Table, Banff National Park still receives many visitors from all over Canada, but they would like to receive more international guests.

“This elimination of the PCR test (requirement) seems like such a small detail, but it is such a powerful tool to get our market moving again,” said Katie Tuff of the Banff Hospitality Collective.

During the winter months, skiing is critical to boosting Banff’s local economy.

Pete Woods is the president of SkiBig3, a group that represents the ski resorts of Mount Norquay, Banff Sunshine, and Lake Louise. He said that since most Albertans hit the slopes on the weekends, business during the season relies heavily on travelers from outside of Canada.

“What we see from our international visitors is the longest stay, and they come throughout the week,” he said. “When they do, they help expand (the business).”

Whether or not the request is heard is another story.

Health Canada has said that its current testing measures are a critical part of Canada’s COVID-19 surveillance strategy, and that PCR, or molecular, tests have significantly high sensitivity for early detection of COVID-19.

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