Friday, July 8, 2022
On tourism, a latest report shows that the sector is gradually getting better; however, before it recovers from the pandemic fully, it has to climb a long path.
On Wednesday, Statistics Canada had unveiled a report, showing a 50.7 per cent rise in all spending related to tourism in the first quarter of 2022, in comparison to the same time last year. In comparison to the final months of 2021, the spending increased 1.3 per cent. Spending by domestic and international travelers increased from $10.4-billion to $15.7-billion in that period. Still, domestic travel accounts for majority of that rise, with almost $10-billion between January and March. It came from Canadians, majorly.
Gordon Orr, Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island CEO, have approved that increases have been sluggish, but there are reasons to be hopeful.
Orr said that annually, he is noticing slight growth in hotel occupancy rate. He also said that hotel occupancies are nowhere close to the position where they were during pre-COVID times. Quite a few events and festivals saw experiential growth which wasn’t quite seen in the last few years.
He gave an example of record attendance at the LaSalle Strawberry Festival and Art 2022 in the Park.
Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island does not maintain quarterly results, and Orr doesn’t expect a complete revival for a few more years.
Encouraged by the 20 per cent tax credit for overnight stays in Ontario, local tourism operators still depend a lot on domestic visitors.
Wednesday, May 1, 2024
Wednesday, May 1, 2024
