Junos cancellation ‘a bit of a gut-punch’: businesses
Expected economic impact for hotels, restaurants, pubs, taxis to be $9M
The decision to cancel the Juno Awards was part of an unavoidable “cumulative response” as groups, leagues and governments across the globe scrapped events in recent days, said the president and CEO of Tourism Saskatoon.
“I think at the end of the day it just became difficult to see moving forward in an ethical way, with public health being the primary concern,” Tourism Saskatoon’s Todd Brandt said Thursday, after organizers announced the Juno Awards and all Juno Week activities in Saskatoon were called off as the province confirmed its first presumed case of COVID-19.
“The perfect storm happened in a 24-hour period and we simply had to react appropriately to it.”
Shawn Moen, the CEO and co-owner of 9 Mile Legacy Brewing, said his bar — one of the venues that was set to host Junofest concerts — had been monitoring the situation. He felt like circumstances were building to this through the entire week, he said.
“It’s not a surprise. It was a bit of a gut-punch, but I don’t think our decision-makers had any other option,” Moen added.
“They were in a no-win situation: they cancel the event and people criticize them for playing into the hysteria. … They don’t cancel the event, and COVID-19 shows up anyways, which it will, and they get blamed for COVID-19.”
Moen said contingency plans had been discussed to “minimize” any financial impacts and keep employees and patrons comfortable.
“The big fear is the economic disruption. This is a health emergency, but this is fundamentally an economic crisis,” he said.
“I don’t want that to be misconstrued that we’re not caring about the safety of people — that’s not it at all — but there’s a real (effect) that may well impact our ability to make sure our staff are taken care of, our bills are taken care of.”
Saskatoon’s tourism industry is estimated to generate around $500 million in economic activity annually. Brandt and Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce president-ceo Darla Lindbjerg estimated the expected total economic impact from the Junos — for hotels, restaurants, taxis and ride-sharing, bars and pubs — to be around $9 million.
Brandt said it’s too soon to know what the longer-term effects of COVID -19 will be. He said his organization is in contact with organizers of events planned over the coming months, but there is no precedent to follow.
Among the events expected to draw large crowds in Saskatoon over the next three months are a March 20 Saskatchewan Rush home game — already postponed — multiple Saskatoon Blades games that have been postponed, a Jojo Siwa tour stop on April 6, a Celine Dion concert on April 25, a World Wrestling Entertainment show the following night, ZZ Top on May 9, The Black Keys on May 16, and an Ultimate Fighting Championship card on June 20.
Scott Ford, chair of the 2020 Junos host committee and Sasktel Centre executive director, said building officials will “look at them on an event-by-event basis” and that “until we are advised otherwise, those events are moving forward.”
Jim Bence, the head of the province’s hotel and hospitality association, said COVID-19 is expected to have a “significant” effect on hotels across the country as international travel dries up, though he said Saskatchewan — for the time being — is still perceived as being “relatively unaffected.”
That said, noted Bence, the cancellation of the Junos means hundreds and possibly thousands of hotel bookings in and around the city will be cancelled over the coming days. It’s a big loss for businesses that rely on major events to drive traffic. While there are many unknowns for both the short- and long-term, Bence said his members are concentrating on making sure their staff and guests are safe, in much the same way they did during the SARS epidemic in 2003.
COVID-19 is a “different beast altogether” and things are developing “almost to the minute,” he said.
Lindbjerg does not believe Saskatoon will see an immediate overall effect as a result of COVID -19, but said the economy could suffer here as it has elsewhere, depending on how well the pandemic is contained.
Cierra Sieben-chuback, owner and operator of Living Skies Cannabis downtown, said she was not surprised by the decision to cancel the Junos, but called it “very disappointing.”
Brent Penner, executive director of the Downtown Saskatoon business improvement district, said health concerns are the most important issue, though he thinks businesses both large and small in Saskatoon will feel the effect of the Junos cancellation. “There’s a lot of people who put a lot of time and effort into it,” he said. “But there’s issues at play that are larger than the Junos, certainly, and once that realization kicks in, the decision wouldn’t have been made lightly.”
The Saskatoon Airport Authority, which operates the Saskatoon John G. Diefenbaker International Airport, said on Thursday that it continues to monitor the situation and has already taken steps from its internal emergency preparedness plan.
Those steps include “enhanced cleaning measures” using higher-grade products and “supplementary cleaning and sanitizing” on items such as handrails and armrests that are frequently touched.
A spokeswoman for the airport authority said Canada Border Services Agency put “enhanced screening measures” in place earlier this year with the aim of identifying travellers who may have been exposed to the novel coronavirus.
“We continue to evaluate our plans as the situation unfolds, and will scale-up as necessary,” the spokeswoman said in a statement.