Travel consumers are starting to fly home from their vacations, and many are being sidelined by the new rules required for entry back into Canada.
As of today, The Jamaica Gleaner website reports that “hundreds” of Canadians are stranded in the country due to the new testing rules. Only two private labs have been approved by the Ministry of Health & Wellness to offer PCR testing for COVID-19 in Jamaica. They are Caribbean Genetics (CARIGEN) and Microlabs Limited, and the Gleaner is reporting that they are overwhelmed with testing.
The airlines are trying their best to be as flexible as possible right now, such as with allowing people to rebook without further cost and helping them to find locations where they can get tested and stay while stranded. However, everything is beyond confusing for travelers and there has not been enough time for people to be aware of new government regulations for travel that were rolled out on January 7, 2021.
As of right now, I want to make it clear that we really need ACTA (Association of Canadian Travel Agencies) more than ever and membership has never been more valuable in the battle to help protect travel consumers and travel agents.
No New Year cheer this year: 2021 don’t be like 2020
As we said goodbye to 2020, there seemed to be some light ahead with the vaccine and a number of pilot projects with rapid testing at select Canadian airports.
But 2021 brought us another blow to the travel industry for consumers and travel agents alike. You see, pre-boarding testing requirements were only announced on New Year’s Eve and left everyone scrambling with no time to prepare.
Just before midnight on December 31, the government put the hammer down and made it clear that all passengers five years of age and older will be required to test negative for COVID-19 before travelling by air from another country to Canada. This means that everyone must have documentation of a negative laboratory test result and they have to present it to their airline before travelling back to Canada. Testing must be performed using a COVID-19 molecular polymerase chain reaction (or PCR) test within 72 hours of boarding a flight. Then, all travelers will have their quarantine plans reviewed by a government official, and if not suitable, individuals will be asked to quarantine in a federal quarantine facility.
Already, just two days after the implementation of the new requirements, we are already seeing problems and confusing information. Just look at Jamaica, where it seems impossible to cope with the influx of new requests from travelers.
This begs the question: if the feds really care about its citizens and the $1.5 trillion-dollar global tourism industry, then why would they give everyone just seven days to prepare.
Many in our industry are now questioning the decision-making, line of thinking, and optics.
Another problem is the vast difference in the costs for testing. I am compiling a comprehensive list of testing facilities all over the world and here is what I have discovered so far: $30 (USD) in some places in Cuba to $532 (USD) in Los Cabos, with results ranging in duration from 15 minutes to 96 hours. It is so confusing for us all and difficult to navigate what is best. Adding to the inconvenience is the cost and time to go to and from the testing facility to get the test and in some cases pick it up too.
ACTA has issued its official statement on the matter: “This new requirement is yet another blow to travel agents who are seeing any possible bookings from clients evaporate as they express concern and cancel. This latest development has put travel agents in an even more precarious situation and ACTA cannot stress enough the acute need for urgent financial support for Travel Agents and the entire travel industry including airlines, airports, tour operators and travel agencies.”
That’s right, so many people are being negatively affected with these government requirements; that is the travel agents, the hotels, the airlines, transportation systems, and consumers.
ACTA has solutions for travel agents and travel consumers
As we are now marching into 2021, ACTA and myself, along with a few key industry leaders, are moving fast now to make lobbying efforts a top priority as this pandemic continues to negatively affect our lives and the economy. I came into 2021 with armor on, ready to really get down and dirty if we have to… the gloves are off!
Here are the immediate priorities ACTA is lobbying for:
- Finding better alternatives to pre-boarding testing that also still includes 14-day quarantines.
- Commission recall: funding to cover travel agent’s recall of commission must be included in any airline or tour operator aid package.
- Liquidity assistance – accessibility to the new HASCAP loan program that still has not launched.
- Extension of the Canada Recovery Benefit for Independent Travel Agents to, at minimum, the end of June, 2021.
- Extension of the 75% wage subsidy to minimum June 30, 2021 with limited conditions that recognize the needs of the hardest hit industries, including travel agencies.
- The inclusion of the 25% top-up benefit in the rent subsidy program as travel businesses have essentially been shuttered since March 2020.
If we can get the government to adopt our priorities, then this will help travel agents and businesses, and the economy. And it is the consumers who we have in mind too: we need these changes so that they can travel and know all the rules in advance and not be taken by surprise; consumers, nor anyone for that matters, don’t like surprises. Travelling over Christmas to Lost Cabos with a planned return date of January 9th, one family of five had to add $3,337 (CDN) to their costs as they did not expect these new rules. And that’s without the travel costs to the clinic.
The Crystal Ball says…
Only if we had a Crystal Ball, that would make everything so much easier in knowing when life will enter a new normal.
In 2020, all of us kept saying, “let’s take it one day at a time,” and now it’s like a broken record. We all had high hopes for 2021, but the government needs to recognize the needs of travel businesses, travel agents, travel consumers and our economy.
There are so many ACTA members who are innovative, and we are all working collectively and tirelessly for change that will benefit those in our industry and consumers who want to spend their money while recognizing the need to be safe.
This is all a no brainer. It’s just all simple logic that needs to be employed.
People in the government have little idea of how travel works and if they consulted with those of us who do know, and we pooled our knowledge and resources, then a very suitable solution could be implemented.
Airports and the entire industry have taken every step to protect the consumer. We can only hope the government will do the same for our industry. I think all airports should have the ability to offer pre-boarding COVID-19 testing at the cost of the traveler and then this would be in compliance of the government regulations as well as the other passengers on board.
I just wish the government would work with us and not against us!
Since each day is “take it as you go” and new rules are being implemented quickly, most pertinent information is just not readily available, except for a few tourist destinations compiled by WestJet and Air Canada Vacations. This is why I have spent all weekend compiling my own comprehensive list that will be available to my YouTube Channel Subscribers from Tuesday (January 12/21) free of charge. I am working hard to help travel agents and my only ask is they help me in return by helping me get YouTube Channel Subscribers.
