Monday, August 28, 2023
This summer, wildfires in Canada have forced out inhabitants and limited visitation in some places, just as the nation attempts to resurrect its tourism industry following years of pandemic-related restrictions.Some business leaders are concerned that the most recent climate-related disruption may harm the nation’s standing as a major tourist destination.
Following fires in Ontario, Quebec, and the east coast in the spring, wildfires in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories in August forced thousands of individuals to leave their homes and affected several businesses during the peak summer tourism season.
The safety of citizens, business owners, and tourists in towns affected by the wildfires is the group’s main concern right now, according to Beth Potter, president and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC).
She does point out that the flames are halting the recovery for the tourism industry, which was depending on this summer to make a crucial comeback from the effects of the COVID-19 limitations.
“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.”
Premier of British Columbia David Eby last week issued a temporary travel ban to regions affected by the wildfires due to the continued destruction on the west coast. The ministry declared that enough lodgings had been found for the nearly 30,000 inhabitants who had been forced from their homes, therefore the restriction was removed for West Kelowna on Friday and other areas earlier in the week.
A week after being suspended, flights are also beginning to resume to the Central Okanagan region.
According to Walt Judas, CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of British Columbia, it is still too early to predict how severely wildfire interruptions and related prohibitions would affect companies.
In addition to dealing with the immediate effects of wildfires on their operations, many operators are also having communication issues, according to Potter.
Since news of the ongoing flames in Canada, Greece, and Hawaii dominates headlines, she adds, even tourist destinations in regions that are not directly affected by wildfires are being forced to communicate with foreign guests to reassure them that it is safe to travel.
The record wildfire season is only the most recent extreme weather event to affect Canadian provinces this summer; Ottawa was devastated by destructive storms, and Nova Scotia is still recovering from flooding from last month.
International news outlets have covered Canadian wildfires and the accompanying smoke that traveled south of the border and even over the Atlantic Ocean.
According to Potter, climate-related disruptions are jeopardizing Canada’s tourism industry’s reputation.
According to Potter, a lot of firms are focusing on how they can increase their resilience to extreme weather, and TIAC is in talks with governments about developing infrastructure to adapt to the new climatic realities.
Obtaining adequate insurance coverage is one of the most significant financial interruptions for businesses affected by wildfires and flooding.
According to specialists who talked to Global News this week, climate change would probably cause insurance prices for coverage connected to natural catastrophes to skyrocket.
“Insurance actually started to become a real big problem for our industry when the pandemic hit. And that challenge is continuing to grow,” Potter says. “It’s become unwieldy, it’s incredibly costly, and it’s going to have a direct impact on whether a business can afford to open or not.”
She claims that TIAC is now in discussions with the governments over the establishment of insurance coverage standards.
Sunday, April 28, 2024
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