While COVID appears to be gradually reducing its public health footprint, the same cannot be said of its economic impact. I’m not talking about runaway inflation here. Rather, it is the virtual disappearance of American tourists.
Last week, the Boston Globe released a report on the social and economic impact of COVID on border villages between Quebec and the United States.
The community of Stanstead is just a stone’s throw from Derby Line in Vermont. The 2020 border closures have had a dramatic impact on communities on both sides of the border.
Despite the last few restrictions being lifted on October 1, Americans and Canadians are wondering if things will ever go back to the way they were. While many are optimistic about returning to pre-pandemic routines, we are far from a normal situation for now.
Screenshots from the Times of Oman website
The newspaper quotes figures from the United States Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Almost 330,000 people are believed to have crossed the border in passenger cars between Stanstead and Derby Line between January and August 2022.
That’s a 51% decrease compared to the same period in 2019, when there were around 680,000 crossings.
Scary dates
This Tuesday, The Detroit News published an analysis by Bloomberg that gives you goosebumps. The article reports that despite the disappearance of health control measures, American tourism still shys away from Canada. According to a survey last June, only 41% of American travelers said they planned a trip to Canada within the next nine months.
Screenshots from The Detroit News website
The United States was Canada’s top tourism market in 2019 with 15 million Americans in 2019. At the end of 2021 we just hit 45,000! Despite the European market, our neighbors to the south represent 68% of our international visitors and 49% of our tourist dollars.
Bloomberg states that the total tourism industry generated $105 billion (Canadian) in revenue in 2019, which fell to $63 billion in 2021.
Marc Seguin, vice president of policy and government affairs at the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, says he’s banking on the lower Canadian dollar, coupled with freedom of movement, to persuade Americans to move north in the next few months.
The article also highlights the holding of certain festivals and events such as MTLàTable and a Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibition that will be held at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts through February.
We even rely on indigenous tourism. Mentioned is the new multimedia night show Onhwa’ Lumina, produced by Moment Factory, which takes visitors on a nearly one-kilometer interactive forest trail and tells the story of the Wendat nation in Wendake, near Quebec City.
It’s clear. Its a lot to do.
Screenshots from the Times of India website
- Newspapers and Internet (51 countries identified)
- Period from November 19th to 25th, 2022
- Keywords: Montreal and Quebec in all languages using our alphabet.
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