ACHING TO TRAVEL?
You Don’t Have to Go Far
If you are sick of staring at the walls in your house—working, studying, playing, and living in the same space with the same people every day—you are not alone. It is no wonder the experts are saying that there will be a pent-up travel demand when the stay-athome orders are lifted and people are once again free to congregate. One group that is really excited to meet this demand for travel is the tourism industry.
Every industry took a hit during COVID-19, but the tourism industry especially so. They rely on the movement of people, large gatherings, and open border access—all things that have been mostly prohibited since the start of the pandemic. One would think that there might not be many tourism businesses left. The data is ugly, with 25% of tourism operators closing in several northern communities. But that means three-quarters of these hard-hit businesses are still on their feet. We are nearing the end of the race between vaccines and the virus, and once we finish that race, a new one will begin: to resuscitate these businesses as fast as possible, before lingering injuries finish even more of them off.
Business counts happen every December and June. They track how many businesses of a specific sector are operating per year. As expected, not all businesses made it through the pandemic. Our figures show the drop in businesses in each sector related to tourism. It is a tough table to look at. If you look closely, however, there are reasons to be hopeful. Large centres lost relatively few tourism businesses. Even in the hardest-hit rural communities, most operators are still in existence. So, when making summer plans, look at some smaller communities and rural operators that are still hanging on and need your support.
Atikokan is a small community about 200 kilometres west of Thunder Bay. If you compare the business numbers between 2019 and 2020, they remained steady in information and cultural industries (arts, entertainment, and recreation). Accommodation and food services sectors did experience a slide, but 90% of businesses are still standing. If you are visiting Quetico Provincial Park this summer, you should pop into Atikokan for a few hours too.
If you are on the way to visit Kenora, you should take a stop in Dryden—another community where tourism is still standing firm, waiting for the storm to pass. They saw business losses in most tourism sectors but again, close to 90% have survived up until now. Visit Egli’s Sheep Farm, explore the historical museum, or visit one of the many outdoor parks while in the area.
Perhaps surprisingly, the little gem of Ignace hasn’t experienced any declines in any of the tourism sectors. We don’t know what their pandemic survival secret was, but if
you are on Highway 17, you should take a rest break and visit their hidden white sand beaches and friendly residents.
If you are making summer plans and want to help those who are hurting the most, you should drive down Highway 11 and give some love to the border communities of Rainy River and Fort Frances. With the border closed, the tourism sectors in these communities are being hit the hardest as their main clientele are stuck on the wrong side of the falls. These communities have seen a large loss in arts, entertainment, and recreation sectors as well as in food service and accommodations.
Travel and tourism from outside the country will be restricted for a while yet. In the meantime, you should take advantage of the availability of local tourist spots now. They need your support, and once things open more, who knows when the next available booking will be? Drive a few hours west and have a weekend getaway before the travel rush begins. Where will your next adventure be in Northwestern Ontario?