Tourism sector needs help to avert catastrophe: report
Loss of tourism industry would have similar impact as 1992 northern cod moratorium, council says
The Premier’s Advisory Council on Tourism report was released Wednesday, making a number of recommendations to boost the tourism industry and turn it around from the downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
One of the recommendations is, given the current vaccine timelines, “we recommend the province announce its intention to safely welcome our fellow Canadians by July 1, or earlier if evidence dictates.”
Welcoming potential tourists from outside the province is key to rebuilding the tourism industry, the council stated.
The report suggests that testing be part of entrance requirements, without quarantine, until all Phase 1 and Phase 2 priority groups in Newfoundland and Labrador are fully vaccinated.
“Our industry is essential to the fabric of this province’s culture, arts and economic vibrancy,” chair Jill Curran said in a news release.
“We have a pivotal role to play in building a brighter economic future for our province.”
The 14-member advisory council was created in January to provide advice to the provincial government on short-term measures to assist with the sustainability, reopening and recovery of the tourism sector in Newfoundland and Labrador.
There are 11 recommendations in the final report. An interim report was presented in March.
The report, in addition to focusing on reopening the province for travel and air-access requirements, suggests consistent tourism marketing messaging and proposed funding support through federal and provincial programs, and that industry owners and operators having designated safe-opening plans.
In Newfoundland and Labrador in 2018, the tourism industry was responsible for $1.58 billion in annual spending, employing an estimated 20,000 people in more than 2,700 tourism-related businesses and organizations, the report states.
In 2019, the tourism industry again employed an estimated 20,000 people, representing nine per cent of provincial jobs.
The 2020 summer season was a “constructive loss” for most operators, particularly those businesses structured on the visitor economy and/or larger volumes of travellers.
“Many did not open. Those who did were able to do so in large part because of various funding initiatives,” the report notes. “This past year, Newfoundland and Labrador saw 10.8 per cent of active tourism businesses depart the market according to a March 8, 2021 report from Destination Canada, second only to Ontario.
“We employed 6,300 less people in our businesses and without federal programs such as the Canada Employment Wage Subsidy (CEWS), that number would have been much worse. Many businesses in our tourism sector have been operating with little revenue, and in some cases zero revenue, since October 2019 (essentially the end of the 2019 summer/fall tourism season).”
The report notes the results of a March 2021 Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador survey of tourism businesses in the province, in which 45 per cent of respondents said they will not reopen in 2022 if they do not open in 2021.
To send the message of how devastating a lost tourism industry could be to the province, the report compares it to the 1992 northern cod moratorium.
“Without decisive action our industry is on the cusp of experiencing devastation similar to the fishing industry in the 1992 cod moratorium,” it states. “While different sectors, the similarities faced are alarming. In 1992 the fishing industry employed about 30,000 people from Newfoundland and Labrador, representing about 12 per cent of the province’s labour force. In the 10 years following the moratorium, the province’s population dropped by a record 10 per cent.”
One bright note during the 2020 tourism season was the interest and support of the province’s residents.
“Our residents certainly heeded the message to shop local and supported our tourism businesses, but the reality is that the province does not have a large enough population to sustain our tourism industry,” the report stated. “‘Staycation’ business in isolation cannot sustain the contribution the tourism industry makes to the provincial economy. Likewise, we did not experience a significant number of visitors from the Atlantic bubble in the 2020 season, to make a significant contribution to our tourism industry.”
Premier Andrew Furey said the council’s work is important as the province advances on the path to recovery.
“The tourism industry has been significantly impacted by the pandemic,” he said. “Both (Tourism Minister Steve Crocker) and I have met with the council to discuss the contents and recommendations, and we will continue to work closely with them on how we move forward in support of our tourism industry.”