COVID Restrictions Backfire on Canada: ‘Not Convincing These People to Come’
Canada’s rules for tourists entering Canada are being cited as one reason Americans are slow to return to their northern neighbor.
The focus of concern is the ArriveCAN app, according to CBC. Canada requires visitors to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
ArriveCAN is an app that must be used by anyone who wants to enter Canada. Tourists must submit travel and vaccination information within 72 hours of when they plan to enter Canada.
Many Americans still aren’t coming to Canada. Is the ArriveCAN app to blame? | CBC News https://t.co/YaIWyakngm
— National Newswatch (@natnewswatch) September 2, 2022
Trending:
Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati told the CBC the app is a barrier to Americans.
“I talked to Americans,” he said. “They’re saying, ‘Just bypass Canada. It’s easier to go to Europe than come to Canada.’”
The result? Niagara Falls has had a dearth of American visitors this summer.
“When you talk to any businesses in town, they’ll tell you there’s a very small amount of American dollars coming in,” Diodati said. “It’s been hurtful, especially after two years of COVID.”
Are you deterred from traveling to Canada?
Yes: 100% (29 Votes)
No: 0% (0 Votes)
Anna Pierce, vice president of Niagara Helicopters, which offers rides over the falls, called the drop in American tourists “devastating” and said bookings are down 35 percent due to the lack of American tourists, CBC reported.
Perrin Beatty, chief executive of the Conference Board of Canada, a business lobby group, said the government needs to make entry to Canada easier, according to Reuters.
“If what people are hearing from Canada is that the system is broken, they’ll simply go somewhere else where things are functioning better,” said Beatty.
Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York has written to Canadian officials to scrap the app.
️I’m calling on the Canadian government to end the required use of the ArriveCAN app.
Canada’s mandated use of this app has disrupted Northern Border travel and damaged cross-border tourism and commerce.
My full letter: pic.twitter.com/La40nw70hx
— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) August 18,…
Source
