Canada’s Vaccine Misstep Is Hurting Tourism Recovery
Photo Credit: Canada's initial vaccine distribution delay and any potential future lags could further slow tourism's recovery. Getty Images / Matteo Colombo
Skift Take
Things change fast in a pandemic. Canada ranked first in tight Covid restrictions, then it trailed the U.S. in vaccinations. Now it's playing catch up, while asking Canadians to help by spending the bulk of their vacation savings at home this summer, and not next door. Will they listen?
A year after the pandemic shut down global travel, Canada’s borders remain restricted to the world, and closed to the U.S. by land. At the start of 2021, America’s northern neighbor further implemented draconian entry requirements for citizens and visitors in an attempt to curb the entry of Covid variants.
Further stunting recovery is Canada’s recent vaccine distribution lag. While fellow G7 nations are advancing on that front, notably the United States — its primary tourism competitor —only three out of 100 Canadians had received one dose as of two weeks ago, compared to approximately 14 in the U.S. and 21 in the UK. The delay has even prompted political rivals to lash out at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Trudeau has indicated vaccinations would reach all Canadians by September 2021, but shared days ago that distribution is moving faster, with at least one million Pfizer vaccine doses per week from March 22 to May 10.
“We're now seeing supply coming in on a much accele
