Signs of Hope: Canadian Cities Get Ready for Pandemic Recovery

May 26, 2021 ctn_admin

Airbnb says visitors seem to be returning to Canadian cities. But tourism officials in Canadians largest urban centres say it’s going to be a while before they recover from a pandemic that has devastated their tourism industries.

Rural areas of Canada and smaller cities have often managed fairly well over the past 14 months. But the activities that have traditionally drawn people to our cities; concerts, sporting events, live theatre, buzzy restaurants, are pretty much non-operational. And that has been an incredible burden.

“Most Canadians are eager to flee the city and get out into the countryside. But consider your cities as another option for travel this summer,” Destination Canada President and CEO Marsha Walden said last week. “They really need your support, and there are incredible experiences.”

A study by Airbnb this week said that Americans are booking long-term stays (28 days or more) in New York City and other U.S. cities in big numbers. The same goes for Montreal, which could be benefitting from reopening plans recently unveiled by the province of Quebec.

“It is not a surprise that people want long-term stays in the city with the diversity of experiences to live in the different neighborhoods of Montreal,” said Yves Lalumiere, President and CEO of Tourism Montreal. “Visitors can expect to build lasting memories of Montreal’s unique tastes, sights, people, history and culture.”

“We expect the summer to start off somewhat constrained in June with travel occurring within our own province and extending into the Atlantic Bubble,” said Ross Jefferson, President and CEO of Discover Halifax. “Into July and August we are expecting to see a much stronger rebound with pent up Canadian travel beng led by visiting friends and relatives and families wanting to reconnect and using travel to do so. 

“In anticipation of this rebound we have been preparing a strong lineup of community events, animations, and programming to ensure Halifax is the place to visit this summer.“  

“I’m more optimistic about this summer than I have been in a year,” Royce Chwin, president and CEO of Tourism Vancouver, said in a telephone interview. “But some businesses are hanging on by a fingernail.”

Bringing in folks from other parts of B.C. and other parts of Canada would be great, but Chwin said Vancouver needs the U.S. border and international borders open.

“Forty six per cent of the Metro Vancouver economy is from international and U.S. overnight visitors,” he said.

“We remain bullish on the return of tourism and the return of travel,” said Andrew Weir, Executive Vice President, Destination Development, at Destination Toronto. “The fundamentals that made Toronto attractive for leisure and business travel will very much remain in place.

“The opportunity is there to return for leisure travel,” Weir told Canadian Travel News. “What people crave and miss most is that social time at a restaurant or a theatre or at a sporting event. Watching the Leafs in the playoffs in your family room is not the way to experience a sporting event. You look back at the Raptors winning the title and the Blue Jays in 2015 and 2016, those were profound cultural experiences.”

On the business front, Weir said technology will change business travel forever, but it won’t replace it. “Teams can work remotely, but they need to occasionally get together.”

Similarly, meetings and conventions can’t be entirely replaced by Zoom chats in our pajamas.

“A lot of functional work can be done virtually. Content can be shared virtually. But you can’t walk the trade show floor virtually. You can’t have dinner after the show is over to share experiences.”

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