Extreme weather is putting Canada’s reputation as tourist destination at risk
Wildfires have displaced residents and restricted travel in some areas across Canada this summer just as the country looks to revive tourism business after years of pandemic-related restrictions.
It’s the latest climate-related disruption that some industry players worry will mar the country’s reputation as a hub for tourism.
Wildfires in British Columbia and Northwest Territories in the month of August, which followed blazes across Ontario, Quebec and the east coast in the spring, have sent thousands of residents fleeing from their homes and disrupted many businesses during the busy summer travel season.
Beth Potter, president and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC), says that the group’s focus in the midst of the crisis is on the safety of residents, business operators and travellers in communities affected by the wildfires.
However, she notes that for tourism businesses that were counting on this summer for a critical rebound from impacts tied to COVID-19 restrictions, the wildfires are cutting that recovery short.
“We are not back yet operating at 100 per cent. We have not recovered from the lack of business over the last few years because of restrictions related to the pandemic,” Potter tells Global News. “Additional crisis situations like wildfires and extreme weather are just impeding our ability to make that return to business as usual.”
The ongoing devastation on the west coast prompted B.C. premier David Eby to issue a temporary ban on travel to areas affected by the wildfires last week. The ban was lifted for West Kelowna on Friday and other regions earlier in the week as the province said enough accommodations had been secured for the roughly 30,000 residents displaced from their homes.
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