Rough road to recovery for N.B. duty-free shop – still holding out hope border traffic will increase
John Slipp says it’s like the perfect storm. Just as the pandemic is shifting and restrictions easing, the high price of fuel, supply chain issues and lingering requirements at the U.S.-Canada border are all adding pressure to his already beat-up bottom line.
The owner of the Woodstock duty-free shop and Atlantic Travel Centre says the month of May normally sees more campers and road trippers taking advantage of the warmer weather. He had built up his inventory in anticipation.
Instead, he says, traffic has been slow.
“I was talking to a supplier yesterday who said everybody is experiencing the same thing. We can only assume it’s the price of fuel but it’s hard to be sure,” Slipp said. “And the supply chain challenges affect us just like they’re affecting everyone else… Could the business environment be more difficult? It’s hard to imagine.”
He also wonders if the federal government’s “ArriveCan” app is holding travellers back. The app is used for any travellers entering Canada to upload their proof of vaccination documentation. The Canadian Border Services Agency has repeated that – no matter their vaccine status – travellers must use the app to return to Canada.
“We believe this is a factor in our challenges with slow traffic,” he said. “What is the benefit? …How is having people registering on ArriveCan actually benefiting Canadians? And nobody’s been able to answer that question.”
Visitors from central Canada and the eastern U.S. make up a sizeable portion of the tourism market in N.B.
But while there’s concern gas prices may hold some back – the Tourism Industry Association of N.B. also believes it will encourage more to explore closer to home.
“Talking to some different operators, they're starting to see visitors from away. Maybe not to the degree they have in the past, the gas prices may be limiting that a little bit, but people are still looking to travel,” said Andrew McNair, association CEO.
“If they're losing some of that it's being picked up by people closer. Bookings are full, operators are telling us that bookings are filled up and that people are ready to move and do things, so if we lose a little bit of business from further away it's going to get picked up by those closer.”
Many tourism operators are counting on the upcoming summer to help with recovery after the last two years.
According to the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, almost 85 per cent of businesses in the tourism sector experienced a decrease in revenue the first year of the pandemic – and for almost half, that decrease was 40 per cent of more.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Attack on prison van in France kills 2 officers, inmate escapes
Armed assailants killed two French prison officers and seriously wounded three others in an attack on a convoy in Normandy on Tuesday and an inmate escaped, officials said.
Maximum payout for LifeLabs class-action drops from $150 estimate to $7.86
Canadian LifeLabs customers who filed an application for a class-action settlement began receiving their payments this week, though at a much lower amount than initially expected.
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence for 10 years under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
$1.6B parts plant for Honda electric vehicle batteries coming to Niagara Region
A Japanese company has announced it will build an approximately $1.6-billion plant in Ontario's Niagara Region that will make a key electric vehicle battery component as part of Honda's supply chain in the province.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Manitoba premier to visit areas impacted by wildfire
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew will get a close-up look at the devastation from a large wildfire burning in northern Manitoba Tuesday.