Hospitality industry faces staffing shortages amid peak tourist season
Even though the hospitality industry has seen a surge in business this summer with restrictions easing, the same cannot be said when it comes to finding and keeping staff.
On a sunny Sunday, customers line-up at Waterfront Pizza and Wraps shop on the Halifax waterfront – a sign of business bouncing back.
But numbers are still far from pre-pandemic levels.
"Last year, during the first stages of COVID we were down about 30 per cent in the year 2020, compared to 2019," says owner Kevin Doucette.
“This year we’re at 60 per cent.”
Hotels and restaurants in the Maritimes are starting to see a boost in business with relaxed restrictions and tourist traffic, but with staff shortages throughout the region, these hard-hit industries are struggling to keep up with demand.
The president of the Saint John Hotel Association, Jasmine Mosher, says starting this summer, but over the last two weeks especially, hotel bookings have been on the rise – but staffing issues have made it hard to capitalize on that.
"We’re trying to take advantage of the business and the increase in business," says Mosher. "But the problem is that staffing is also a challenge, so we’re not able to take advantage of the busy season at the moment."
According to the Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia, over the last few weeks, sales in the industry have been relatively strong.
But executive director Gordon Stewart says because it’s being driven by the peak travel and tourism season, it’s unfortunately only temporary.
“The long term, is there’s still lots of road bumps ahead of us,” says Stewart.
"Certainly the sales are going to drop off towards the end of September and October, and that’s going to put everybody in a tight strain right back into the springtime.”
Stewart says the industry was already facing a shortage before the pandemic, and it’s become a major problem.
“In particular in the kitchen area, we’re short red seal chefs, chefs, cooks, line-cooks, anyone in the kitchen, and that’s now spread to the front of the house,” says Stewart.
Stewart says that in general, it takes restaurants two to three years longer than other businesses to rebound from an upset in the marketplace, which means that this industry may have a long road ahead to recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 mm among weather alerts in effect for 7 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres, air quality advisories and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
A fight to protect the dignity of Michelangelo's David raises questions about freedom of expression
Michelangelo's David has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504. But in the current era of the quick buck, curators worry the marble statue's religious and political significance is being diminished.
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
What new auto insurance reforms will mean for Ontarians, if they get introduced
Ontario has among the highest rates for auto insurance premiums in Canada -- just below Alberta and Nova Scotia -- however, the introduction of an insurance reform in the provincial budget could soon lower prices.