As Omicron cases rise, people cancel their winter trips — and the travel industry suffers again

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This article was published 17/12/2021 (1759 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s déjà vu all over again.

For a travel industry that was just starting to recover from the ravages of COVID-19, the federal government’s recommendation this week that Canadians should avoid non-essential international travel was devastating. And all too familiar.

“I can’t believe that 21 months into this pandemic, we’re back in this position again,” said a frustrated Richard Vanderlubbe, owner of Tripcentral.ca travel agency, and a director of the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies.

Concerned customers have already been swamping the phone lines, wondering if it’s still safe to travel amidst the spread of COVID’s Omicron variant, Vanderlubbe said. Many are cancelling.

“There were more cancellations than there were new bookings Wednesday. Not everyone’s cancelling. But there are a lot of questions,” said Vanderlubbe, who fears the advisory is a prelude to stricter measures.

“We’ve seen this all before. First they say, ‘Well, you really shouldn’t, but it’s your decision.’ Then a week or two later they ban it outright,” said Vanderlubbe.

Airlines, too, are frustrated by the advisory, which comes just eight weeks after a previous one had been lifted.

“It’s really disappointing to see another blanket advisory. They just haven’t been effective in the past,” said WestJet spokesperson Morgan Bell, who said safety measures on planes have been effective.

“There are double PCR tests. There are masks. People have to be vaccinated. There’s no safer place to be than a plane right now,” said Bell.

Still, Bell acknowledged, some of the people jamming WestJet’s phone lines are calling to cancel their trips, although she said it’s still too early to tell whether or not there’s going to be a large wave of cancellations.

“Canadians have different levels of comfort with travelling right now,” Bell said.

At Porter Airlines, which is focused on short-haul domestic and U.S. flights, most customers aren’t cancelling, said spokesperson Brad Cicero.

“The vast majority of our passengers are maintaining their travel plans and new bookings are still coming in,” said Cicero. “We believe it is safe to fly with the enhanced health and safety protocols that are in place, including mandatory vaccination and masking.”

While the advisory focused on international travel, even the domestic tourism industry will be hit hard by Wednesday’s announcement, said Chris Bloore, CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario.

“This is feeding into peoples’ anxiety about travelling generally. It’s just terrible for us on every level,” said Bloore. “Some businesses just won’t be able to carry on.”

When he heard Wednesday’s announcement, it was a crushing moment, Bloore admitted.

“My heart sank,” he said. “Consumer confidence in travelling had been very brittle anyway. This just sends the message that it’s not safe.”

Even before the advisory, said Bloore, Ontario hotels, restaurants and tour operators were getting hammered by cancellations.

“As soon as Omicron came out, we’ve had an avalanche of cancellations,” said Bloore, adding that it was a devastating hit for an industry which lost an estimated $2 billion in revenue during last year’s holiday travel season.

The news was especially disheartening for small businesses that count on money from travellers — international or domestic — to keep going, said Ryan Mallough, Ontario regional director for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

“These businesses are open, but governments are sending the message ‘Stay home. Limit your contacts,’” said Mallough.

Small businesses across Ontario have added an extra $190,000 in debt during COVID, Mallough said, and those in the hospitality industry have been particularly hard hit. Any financial wiggle room they may have had to withstand lean times is long gone, he added.

“A lot of people have maxed out their credit cards and lines of credit. Some people have had to remortgage their house, or sell their car. They are tapped out,” said Mallough.