She and her husband began running ecotourism outfit Maple Leaf Adventures out of Vancouver about a month before the 9/11 terrorist attacks devastated international travel in 2001.“The pandemic of course was incredibly tumultuous and scary, as it was, I think, for most tour businesses in Canada,” said Gordon, who runs week-long sojourns on a schooner, converted tug boat and catamaran along the Pacific coast.
“We crossed the ocean out of our wrecked boat, and now … we’re all just trying not to die on the beach.” Beth Potter, who heads the association, has called on the federal government to create a new low-interest loan program and temporary foreign worker stream, both specific to the tourism industry. “If you don’t book the hotel room tonight, you can’t book that hotel room two times tomorrow night,” said Potter.
While some tourism statistics for Canada’s four largest cities — Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary — are now on track to overtake 2019 numbers, farther-flung parts of the country continue to struggle.