The CEO of Ambassatours Gray Line, Dennis Campbell, says the tourism company lost $4-million since the Covid-19 pandemic started in 2020.
The Halifax-based business, famous for such attractions as the Harbour Hopper Tour, has also taken on an additional $3-million in debt to help stay afloat. Campbell says there is no comparison to what the tourism industry has gone through financially in recent times.
“It’s been not a whole lot of fun. It’s been a rollercoaster ride for sure, without clarity on what the future holds,” said Campbell.
“That’s not insignificant at all and it’ll take many, many, years to pay back,” Campbell said about the debt. “But I guess we’re very lucky to be in a position to borrow like that and help towards long-term survival.”
“Could it be more? Sure, absolutely. Is it a good start? Absolutely. For sure.”
Campbell also says it is imperative to the tourism industry that Canada has a strong wage subsidy program, as it will take a long time to recover from the pandemic. Campbell says the new wage subsidy program works on a “sliding scale” and many struggling businesses are getting less than 75 percent of wages covered by the program.
“That is just, absolutely, not going to work,” says Campbell. “We have suppliers who are literally on the edge. If the federal government has the kind of wage subsidy that they had last year, those suppliers will have a fighting chance to survive to 2022.”
“But many, with the reduced wage subsidies, they’re not going to make it, and we’re very concerned about the domino effect of that.”
The Nova Scotia Government also announced that the Atlantic Bubble will open on June 23, and the province will reopen to the rest of Canadian visitors on July 14-assuming all goes well with Covid cases.
This is good news for the tourism industry in Halifax, but many operators will still struggle as long as the Canada/USA border is closed. Ambassatours gets more than 50 percent of its business from American tourists, many of whom come to Halifax via cruise ships.
Campbell believes the Canadian Government should reopen the borders this summer to American visitors who have received two doses of vaccine.
“The evidence is there that second doses protect from the variants, including the most dangerous variant, so the news has to come out soon about the U.S./Canada border opening up. Because, if it doesn’t, it’s going to be a huge hit to tourism and hospitality across Canada,” claims Campbell.
When it comes to Canadian tourists, Campbell believes it could take some time for most people to feel confident travelling across the borders.
“When the borders open up, people aren’t going to start to flock – it’s going to take a little time for people to get their confidence up to move around and travel.”
Campbell is also calling out the Trudeau government for not announcing a plan to allow cruise ships to re-enter Canada in 2022. He said cruise companies will need time to plan, so it’s vital for an announcement to be made ASAP in order to save the 2022 season.
“If they don’t act soon, we won’t have a cruise ship season next season, and that would be catastrophic for the industry in Canada.”
Derek Montague is a reporter with HuddleToday.ca
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