Quebec tourism industry struggles to stay afloat as pandemic shuts down summer travel

On a typical June afternoon, Jack Kowalski would be greeting customers and getting his jet boats ready for tours on the St. Lawrence River.

But these days, he's waiting for the tide to turn on the pandemic.

"The border's been closed, our phones are not ringing at all," said Kowalski, owner of Lachine Rapids Tours in Montreal.

"I get in the office and all day long, the phone does not ring to make a reservation."

People don't even call to ask if he's open, he said. All the reservations he did have were cancelled and now Kowalski isn't sure if he'll be able to open at all this summer.

If Kowalski does restart his tours of Lachine Rapids, he thinks a government-backed promotional campaign would be key to making his relaunch successful.

But he's worried he'll just be sent back to square one if there's a second COVID-19 wave.

"I will not be spending a dime on advertising if we do reopen, because we could be shut down immediately in a week or two, or with no notice at all if there's a resurgence," he said.

Tourism industry takes big hit

Stores have opened and restaurants' dining rooms can reopen soon, but the outlook for the tourism industry is still bleak in Montreal and across the province.

While municipal, provincial and federal governments have all been offering assistance to residents and business owners, a union representing some 8,000 workers in the tourism industry says more needs to be done.

The Fdration du commerce (FCCSN) says few sectors of the economy have been affected as dramatically as the tourism and hotel industry.

"The closure of borders and travel restrictions imposed by almost every country in the world have put the tourism sector on hold for almost three months now, causing tens of thousands of job losses," says the union's treasurer, Michel Valiquette, in a statement published to FCCSN's website.

With travelling abroad or evento the Maritimes off the table for now,the union says the focus should be on local tourism.

The FC-CSN president, David Bergeron-Cyr, is calling for a campaign similar to Panier-Bleu, which encourages buying local products.

"We could do the same for tourism in Quebec, and promote all those great destinations that we have here," he said.

Governments look for solutions

Last month, the Canadian government announced it is earmarking millions of dollars to promote holiday travel inside Canada as it seeks to help the tourism industry weather the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those funds include $30 million originally intended to attract foreign visitors through the federal tourism marketing agency, Destination Canada.

Instead, the money will be used to help provinces and territories encourage Canadians to discover their "own backyard" as the country's international borders remain largely closed due to COVID-19.

However, while travel restrictions have been lifted within the province of Quebec, the provincial government is discouraging any non-essential trips far from home.

Instead, the government is encouraging residents to stay within their own regions this summer.

A spokesperson for Quebec'stourism minister told CBC in May that plans are being developed so tourism activities can be resumed safely.