VANCOUVER B.C.’s tourism industry was hopeful the Canadian government’s new plan to relax quarantine rules would jumpstart a much-needed recovery. Instead, there’s concern that Wednesday’s announcement that only Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be allowed to skip the 14-day quarantine by early July if they test negative before and after their flights home could actually harm tourist-dependent businesses. John Nicholson, vice president of the Listel Hotel, which has locations in Whistler and downtown Vancouver, says if Canadians decide to forego staycations and travel outside our borders, this summer could be worse than 2020. “All those dollars that we were hoping to get are now leaving the country, and nothing’s coming in to replace it,” Nicholson said.
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Every day for a dozen years, customers would line up outside Café Medina in anticipation of the famous Belgian waffles and short rib fricassee. Then a global pandemic hit. And, just like that, the hungry crowds disappeared.
“One of the hardest things, aside from letting 38 employees go,” says Medina’s owner Robbie Kane, “was coming into the restaurant and finding it empty.”
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Try refreshing your browser. The 19th annual Dine Out Vancouver Festival celebrates all we love best while supporting our culinary community Back to video
He hopes that taking part in Dine Out Vancouver Festival (Feb. 5 to March 7) will fill those seats once again. And he’s not alone: a record-breaking 350-plus restaurants are joining in the annual event, many of them, like Medina, for the first time.
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Tourism operators are calling recommendations in the province’s tourism task force report, for $100 million in immediate assistance, a helpful beginning, but it is a first instalment that is past due.
Tourism Minister Melanie Mark promised to move as quickly as possible on COVID-19 assistance for the tourism sector, including the top recommendation to add $50 million to its fund.
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Try refreshing your browser, or COVID-19: Rescue effort for tourism past due, sector leader says Back to video
Premier John Horgan set up the task force in September to consult on how to best prop up the struggling sector, with $50 million to spend.