CALGARY -- Tourism and hospitality businesses in Alberta, forced to close their doors down due to the province's public health restrictions, are demanding answers on a potential timeline for reopening.

Owners from the Alberta Hospitality Association (AHA) and the Calgary Hotel Association (CHA) are calling on the province for financial aid, along with a clear and direct path forward. 

The groups collectively sent a letter to Premier Jason Kenney and Minister of Jobs, Economy and Innovation Doug Schweitzer. 

In the letter, the CHA and AHA calls for the Government of Alberta to immediately commit to enhancing the Small & Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant (SMERG), and to include a dedicated tourism and hospitality stream that doubles the grants from $20,000 to $40,000. 

CHA executive director Sol Zia, has also requested the eligibility threshold of that grant to be increased from 15 per cent to no less than 30 per cent of a business’s pre-COVID-19 revenue. 

"The Calgary Hotel Association recognize the efforts of the Government of Alberta to help keep Albertans safe and our economy functioning during this prolonged pandemic crisis, but the situation within the tourism and hospitality sector is desperate," said Zia. 

"The absence of a clear and predictive path to reopening segments and/or regions of the economy is quickly accelerating the odds of business failure in tourism and hospitality."

Zia adds that many tourism and hospitality businesses only made about 60 per cent of their usual income from January to September last year. She says further financial losses during the Christmas season have now diminished the ability for owners to weather the storm in the first and second quarter of 2021. 

Alberta’s government has promised to provide a framework and a one-week timeline of when businesses can re-open. 

On the Bend the Curve section of the province’s website, a previous mention of the one-week timeline was removed this week. 

The statement now reads:

"Restriction changes to outdoor gatherings, funerals and personal and wellness services came into effect January 18. All other mandatory restrictions remain in place until further notice.”

Provincial and regional health trends will continue to be monitored and assessed over the coming weeks to determine if further easing of restrictions may be considered.