'We’ve lost the summer season': Windsor-Essex tourism sector laments extension of border restrictions
Tourism officials and business leaders in Windsor-Essex are frustrated and worried about how the sector will handle another summer of border requirements to enter Canada.
"We’re not seeing the volumes we were in the past," said Brian Yeomans, the chair of the Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Association.
On Wednesday, the federal government extended border restrictions until at least Sept. 30, 2022, meaning at least three more months where visitors and returning Canadians need to use the ArriveCAN app.
"We’ve lost the summer season, basically," said Gordon Orr, the CEO of Tourism Windsor-Essex Pelee Island. "And what it means is our American friends won’t be able to come back as that day-trip, spontaneous traveler that we’re used to, accustomed to, and we look very forward to the return of."
Orr said Americans typically account for 35 per cent of visitors at Caesars Windsor and a quarter of patrons at the region’s various wineries.
Lower vaccination rates and confusion around downloading and using the ArriveCAN are the biggest barriers, according to Orr.
"We’re really looking forward to this path to re-opening. And a major part of that path is removing the ArriveCAN app to allow visitors to come across to Windsor Essex with ease," he said.
The requirement didn’t keep Muhammad Bhatti and his wife from visiting Sunday.
"We miss Canada for the last three years and we are happy to be here," Bhatti said, noting they made the day-trip from Canton, MI, to Windsor for their first cross-border trip since the beginning of the pandemic.
He said filling out the app was smooth and the traffic was minimal for a long-weekend.
"We spend money, in Windsor, Niagara Falls, Toronto, we spend money, a lot of money really in different stores and hotel and everywhere. So hopefully we can keep open those borders," he said.
Brian Yeomans says ArriveCAN is easy for some but others just can't be bothered and it keeps visitors away.
"It’s just another level of red tape, and it’s kind of a pain," said Yeomans. "And if people are just looking to get away for a while they may not take that time to do that. So they’ll just be like, let’s go to Ann Arbor."
The Frontier Duty Free Association has also been firmly pushing back on the continued use of ArriveCAN and promises to continue advocating for its removal.
"It’s really hurting these communities and the businesses within them," said Barbara Barrett, the executive director of the association, which represents land border duty free stores. "So the mayors and I are going to continue to work together to call on the federal government to take this into consideration."
The federal government said the pandemic is not over and border measures will remain flexible and guided by science and prudence.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Crypt near Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner could fetch US$400,000 at auction
A one-space mausoleum crypt in the vicinity of Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner will go on auction Saturday, when it is expected to reach between US$200,000 and $400,000.
This Toronto restaurant is no longer accepting tips. Here's how it's going
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff – tipping is no longer accepted.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.