Canadian travellers who have been deterred from leaving the country due to COVID-19 testing requirements may now find themselves rushing to book a trip abroad thanks to news that the federal government plans to lift the pre-arrival testing requirement for most travellers.
麻豆影视 has learned that as of April 1, fully vaccinated travellers entering Canada will not have to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test, eliminating the risk that they could get stuck abroad with a positive test result.
Passengers may still be subjected to random PCR testing at the airport, and travellers will still have to use the ArriveCAN app to enter their proof of vaccination and other required information.
For some, the pre-arrival testing requirement was seen as too big of a risk to travel, for fear of running up a costly bill if they were to be stuck at their destination.
Now, experts say a growing number of Canadians are hungry for what many in the industry are referring to as 鈥渞evenge travel鈥濃攁 pent-up demand to travel freely and less willingness to cancel plans.
鈥淲e've heard it hundreds of times over the past few months, [travellers] were scared of testing positive and being stuck whether it was for 10 days or 14 days, depending on the country,鈥 Andrew D'Amours, co-founder of the travel advice website Flytrippers, told CTNews.ca by phone Wednesday.
鈥淭his is going to be like opening up the floodgates. And we'll see a lot, a lot of bookings for later this spring, this summer.鈥
Eliminating the testing requirement is something that travel and tourism organizations as well as the mayors of border towns have been calling for, arguing that the requirement is not justified by science and presented an unnecessary logistical and financial burden on travellers.
The move represents what will likely be a resurgence for the Canadian tourism industry, one sorely impacted by pandemic-era restrictions.
鈥淧eople as of right now will start planning to travel into Canada knowing that they won鈥檛 have to deal with testing,鈥 Martin Firestone, president of Travel Secure Inc., told CTVNews.ca by phone.
鈥淥ur tourism and hospitality industry will see immediate results from this decision... I think it鈥檚 probably one of the biggest sort of restriction lifting we鈥檝e seen in the last two years.鈥
But for Canadians who once again feel confident going abroad, the announcement comes with a caveat: be prepared to pay more to travel.
Ambarish Chandra, associate professor of economic analysis and policy at the University of Toronto, told CTVNews.ca that, unfortunately, as with any case of supply and demand, the price of travel will rise simply because of the number of people who want to travel.
鈥淭he fact that prices will rise is essentially indicative of the fact that people are willing to travel. So, yes, there will be some people who will be priced out of this, out of the market as a result,鈥 Chandra explained.
Firestone notes that pent-up demand will also create supply and demand issues with all kinds of transportation, from airlines and cruise ships to ground transportation.
鈥淐ouple that with the fuel cost scenario that's going on right now as a result of the war [in Ukraine] and you're going to see a definite increase, I would think, in packages, airfare, cruise ships, all that,鈥 said Firestone.
Aside from price, travellers should also be prepared to be flexible when booking post-pandemic trips due to the sheer number of others looking for a little getaway.
鈥淚f we鈥檙e to boil it down as flight price experts, it really comes down to one thing. You have to be flexible,鈥 D'Amours explained.
鈥淵ou have to be flexible about either your date or your destination. Whenever you want to leave, there is going to be some destination that鈥檚 on sale. If you want to go to a specific destination and you鈥檙e flexible on dates, you鈥檙e always going to be able to find a cheaper flight.鈥
But, as D'Amours, we鈥檙e not out of the woods just yet when it comes to pandemic restrictions. Just because Canada is removing its pre-arrival testing requirement for fully vaccinated travellers, doesn鈥檛 mean your destination will have the same rules.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 just buy a flight and hop on a plane like you used to in 2019. You have to read the rules,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not very fun, it鈥檚 not the best part of travel, but you have to review just to make sure that you're following all of their entry rules to make sure that you're not denied boarding and you have the right type of test if you need one."
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