Tourism set to boom in rural Ontario — and bust in Toronto
Not all businesses ready for guests as city remains in Stage 1 of provincial reopening
The world may be dealing with a pandemic, but summer bookings at one Muskoka resort are actually accumulating at a higher rate compared with last summer.
“I believe there’s pent-up demand, I really believe people are ready to get closer to nature, especially people who have been in urban environments and unable to get outdoors,” said Leah Leslie, director of sales and marketing at JW Marriott The Rosseau Muskoka Resort & Spa.
“There’s this longing for that opportunity to spend time in Muskoka, or somewhere like Muskoka. People aren’t flying anywhere, so they’re going to choose a destination they can drive to, and a destination that is somewhat familiar so they can feel safe and secure.”
The Rosseau’s experience is largely similar to other resort and cottage rental properties around much of the province. Rural and small-town Ontario could be seeing a surge of local visitors this summer, as people are finally able to leave their homes but have few travel options and limited budgets.
The U.S. border remains shut down and the federal government continues to warn Canadians against non-essential travel outside the country. Even within the country, some provinces have closed their borders to non-residents.
As Ontarians begin to consider exploring destinations in their own backyard, a large group of business and tourism organizations, identified as the “friends and supporters” of the Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable, urged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and all provincial premiers in an open letter this week to remove the travel restrictions that prevent Canadians from travelling within the country.
The organizations, which include the
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Canadian Chamber of Commerce, a number of airports and the Toronto Region Board of Trade, also called on Trudeau to revisit the decision to close the national borders to people from all countries.
“It’s time to encourage Canadians and some visitors from abroad to explore our country this summer, to begin reuniting friends and families, to allow important business travel to occur, and to get our employees working safely again,” the letter says. “It’s time our governments allow Canadians to travel freely.”
The tourism industry in Ontario was among the first sectors hit — and hit hard — by the COVID-19 pandemic when it arrived in March, and tourism industry leaders are urging Ontarians to visit, eat and shop local this summer to help give a boost to ailing businesses.
Not all businesses will be up and running — in some cases because they’re in regions of the province that remain in the first stage of Ontario’s reopening plan, such as Toronto.
For those that are open, strict health and safety measures will be in place, which in some cases could mean lower capacity of customers to maintain physical distancing.
“Obviously with the borders not open, it’s going to be a very domestic market,” said Beth Potter, president and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario.
“As an industry we’re encouraging people to get out and explore their communities, the community next door, or revisit some of those iconic destinations that you haven’t been to since you were a child.”
There’s a lot of anxiety in the sector, Potter said. An industry that typically generates $36 billion in revenues a year and employs about 400,000 people may only make about $17 billion this year, with tens of thousands of jobs lost.
“A lot of these seasonal businesses are a core piece of the community — oftentimes they’re one of the largest employers in the community — so they’re very, very concerned about what the impact is going to be not just for their own business, but at the community level as well,” Potter said.
The reality is that tourism will likely be the last sector to fully recover, said Philip Mondor, president and CEO of Tourism HR Canada, a national organization that co-ordinates human-resources development for the industry.
He said the industry has been grateful to tap into various federal financial-support programs for businesses hurt by COVID-19, but concerns remain over how long those programs will last.
“It’s a no-go proposition for many tourism-industry businesses to take advantage of some of these programs if they’re short-lived, because they just won’t have enough trade this summer to carry them through the fall and beyond,” Mondor said.
One part of Ontario that may see its tourism sector hurting for even longer than other parts of the province is Toronto.
The city, which continues to produce the bulk of Ontario’s daily new COVID-19 cases, remains in Stage 1 of the province’s reopening strategy, which among other things lets retail businesses with storefront entrances open.
Premier Doug Ford announced this week that a large part of Ontario — but not Toronto and a few other regions — would move to Stage 2 as of Friday, which among other things will permit restaurants and bars to be open for patio dining.
In Toronto, hotel occupancy remains low, restaurants remain closed except for takeout and delivery, and the main attractions are sealed off to visitors.
“It’s a difficult period right now, and that seems almost too obvious to say, but there’s simply no business,” said Andrew Weir, executive vice-president at Tourism Toronto.
“For now, our focus is on helping the businesses in the tourism sector weather this immediate storm and then be ready to begin to invite back visitors when it’s appropriate to do so, and that’s going to start on a very local and regional basis.”
He said it will be important for people outside Toronto to see local residents enjoy being out in the city again, as that will boost confidence to visit. Last year, the city saw 28 million visitors who spent $6.7 billion, and about one-third of those visitors were international travellers, Weir said.
Escaping home and being among nature — while being mindful of physical distancing — will be a big focus this year for Resorts of Ontario, which represents inns, lodges and cottage-rental businesses.
“Find your own space” is the message the organization is putting out, said marketing and communications manager Shane Bage.
“I think people are really eager to travel, people are getting tired of staying in lockdown — they’re really looking to get out,” he said.
Julie Drain, who co-owns Pine Vista Resort, a family-owned cottage rental business in the Kawarthas, said she believes parts of Ontario moving into Stage 2 might have encouraged more people to travel.
While she said Pine Vista is only at about one-third of its capacity for the first two weeks of July — when they would normally be full — the rest of the summer is looking much better.
“Society right now is really on edge and although this will be a vacation for them, I feel the anxiety levels for all Ontarians are so high right now,” she said.
“We’re just trying to keep the momentum fun and happy. Yes, there are restrictions and yes, we all have to be careful and do our part, but we can still live and we can still enjoy a holiday.”
At The Rosseau in Muskoka, Leslie said the message she’s been trying to get across to potential guests is that the resort has all the precautions in place so that they can enjoy a safe holiday in nature.
“You can be safe and still have fun,” she said.
“You can be safe and still spend time outdoors, and still get out of the city and have a beautiful summer vacation. That’s the point. There’s a lot to do here. The beach is open and the water is warm.”