Tourism operators in Atlantic Canada are battling high costs.
According to a recent survey from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, eight in 10 businesses expect little growth this season.
Senior policy analyst for Nova Scotia Duncan Robertson says it’s concerning.
“When we’re seeing costs increase with things like payroll, the carbon tax and more, when you’re revenue isn’t increasing while your costs are, that’s just making a bad situation worse,” said Robertson.
He says tourism has been hit hard since the pandemic, but is steadily recovering.
To help the situation, the CFIB wants to see the feds return over $70 million in carbon tax rebates to small businesses, and for Premiers to cut the provincial gas tax.
“Increasing traffic for tourism and demand is most likely a long-term goal to try and build back to pre-pandemic levels. But financial support in the short term can help a lot of small businesses.”
They’re also pushing for a reduction in tax rates and for municipalities to eliminate patio fees.
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