CALGARY – Alberta’s tourism sector is thrilled to be once again welcoming international travellers.
Canada opened its borders to vaccinated travellers from all over the world, not just the U.S., on Tuesday.
READ MORE: Feds ease travel restrictions for fully vaccinated foreign nationals
Darren Reeder with the Tourism Industry Association of Alberta, says international travellers drop more cash on average than domestic travellers.
“We’re very grateful, and absolutely depend on the contributions of Albertans to our market. But we need about 10 [Albertans] to offset the loss of one international visitor in market during the summer,” explained Reeder.
RELATED: Travel into Canada has more than doubled after border reopened to Americans
He also notes we are nearing the end of the typical travel season, and opening the borders doesn’t fix things for businesses yet and the federal leaders need to be aware of that.
“We need ongoing liquidity supports. We need an absolute commitment to ensure the continuation of the Canada emergency wage subsidy program and the emergency rent program to at least next summer.”
Reeder says many companies will need support to be able to make it to next summer.
