Canada-U.S. border reopening good news for Alberta tourism operators
Alberta's tourism industry will get a much-needed lift when Canada begins allowing fully vaccinated Americans to enter the country on Aug. 9, officials said Monday.
Border restrictions imposed on other foreign nationals will also be relaxed in early September.
The announcement is good news for Alberta’s travel and tourism industry that has struggled through more than a year of COVID-19 closures, and has only recently seen a major uptick in domestic travel.
“The international visitor, believe it or not, spends more than our domestic visitors do. They don't tend to pack a lunch when they come. They're the high ticket visitors, and so, we've really missed them," said Tourism Calgary CEO Cindy Ady.
"It's also really limited things like meetings … and conventions and those types of things. There's been such a limitation on those. And so having surety of when the border will open now, and (having) a plan helps us."
Ady’s comments are echoed by the head of the Calgary Hotel Association.
"Given our reliance on corporate travel, travel between Midwestern states, Texas, Colorado, it's critical for our regional market. Of course, it's important to Banff, Lake Louise, Canmore and the Rockies, but when you look at travel to Alberta, so much of it is trans-border travel, and corporate travel related to oil and gas.” said Sol Zia, Calgary Hotel Association executive director.
"We work very closely with CBRE (Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis) on the commercial real estate side. Unfortunately, they're forecasting a (return to a) typical year to be 2024. So 2024 will start to feel like 2019. It is going to be quite a climb back.”
Fully vaccinated travellers are exempt from quarantine. For the most part, fully vaccinated travellers will also be able to forgo the mandatory post-arrival COVID-19 test.
Border officials will still conduct random testing of travellers entering the country.
The Canada-U.S. border was shut down to non-essential travel by mutual agreement on March 21, 2020.
Unvaccinated American children under the age of 12, and unvaccinated dependent children will be able to accompany a fully vaccinated parent, step-parent, or legal guardian.
They will be able to bypass the 14-day quarantine, but must follow public health guidelines in the region they’re visiting.
Thus far, the U.S. has not announced similar plans to lift restrictions for Canadians seeking entry into that country for discretionary purposes.
Foreign nationals from countries other than the U.S. will have to wait until Sept. 7 to travel to Canada for discretionary purposes. This date is tentative.
It will take effect, “provided that the domestic epidemiologic situation remains favourable.”
All travellers will be required to upload proof of vaccination to the ArriveCAN app or website before boarding a flight to Canada and carry a vaccine certificate with them to present to border officials.
Additionally, five international airports in Canada have been added to the list of those accepting international flights.
The list now includes airports in:
- Calgary;
- Montreal;
- Toronto;
- Vancouver;
- Quebec City;
- Ottawa;
- Winnipeg;
- Edmonton, and;
- Halifax.
With files from CTV Ottawa
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.