For many Canadians, their most exciting adventure over the past couple months has been a weekly trip to the grocery store.
But now that provinces are easing COVID-19 restrictions, some people may be contemplating travel abroad.
Here’s what you need to know about travelling outside Canada while COVID-19 still lingers in our lives.
Can I travel now?
Yes, but with a lot of conditions to consider.
On March 13, the federal government issued an advisory against all non-essential international travel, to help stop the spread of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The advisory remains in effect until further notice.
The ancient Acropolis hill in Athens is a popular destination for tourists. Greece plans to reopen its border in July. (Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)
Despite the advisory, Canadians can still travel abroad. However, travellers may struggle to find flights and their travel insurance likely won’t cover their medical bills if they fall ill with COVID-19. They’ll also have to self-isolate for 14 days upon their return.
The Canada-U.S. border remains closed to tourists on both sides of the border until June 21. And that date could be extended if the number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. — now totalling more than 1.6 million — remains a concern.
Where can I go?
Due to closed borders and a fear of flying during the pandemic, airlines have slashed their routes.
WestJet has grounded all transborder and international routes until June 25. Air Transat and Sunwing have stopped flying altogether until June 30 and June 25, respectively.
Air Canada is currently flying at about five per cent of its capacity. On Friday, the airline announced an updated summer schedule that offers flights to 97 destinations including Rome, Athens and locations in the Caribbean.
Allison Wallace, spokesperson for Flight Centre, said it will take time to restore consumer confidence when it comes to Canadians travelling beyond their borders. (CBC)
Once Canada lifts its advisory against international travel, airlines will start adding more routes, said Allison Wallace, spokesperson for the travel agency Flight Centre.
But she warns it could take up to two years for carriers to resume normal operations.
“The airlines aren’t going to come back and go to 100 per cent,” she said. “There’s sort of a general agreement that international travel will start to come back around 20 per cent by the fall — like September — and then it’ll grow from there.”
As for possible travel destinations, Iceland, Mexico andsome Caribbean countries such as Aruba and St. Lucia plan to start welcoming back tourists in June. Greece plans to reopen in July.
But travellers may face stiff entry requirements. For example, St. Lucia and Iceland will require that visitors get a COVID-19 test before flying and provide proof upon arrival that they’re virus-free. If travellers to Iceland can’t get a test beforehand, the country plans to test them when they arrive.
Two boys walk past the empty plaza of Hallgrimskirkja church, normally a popular tourist destination in downtown Reykjavik, Iceland, in late April. Iceland plans to reopen to tourists in June. (AP Photo/Egill Bjarnason)
Airline analyst and McGill University Prof. Karl Moore is set to fly to Iceland in August to teach for a couple days at Reykjavík University.
But if he can’t get tested in Canada beforehand, Moore is unsure he’ll take the trip. That’s because, if he tests positive for COVID-19 upon arrival, he’ll have to foot the bill for a 14-day quarantine in a Reykjavik hotel. Travellers suffering from COVID-19 can’t fly back to Canada until they recover.
“It’s going to cost me thousands of dollars to be quarantined,” said Moore. “I love Reykjavik, but I may end up teaching [instead] on Zoom.”
What about travel insurance?
Insurance broker Martin Firestone believes that when Canada lifts its travel advisory, travel insurance providers may continue to exclude coverage for COVID-19-related illnesses — until there’s a vaccine.
“A person who ends up on a ventilator in the U.S., it could be hundreds of thousands of dollars, so [insurance providers] are in no position to take that risk,” said Firestone, president of Travel Secure in Toronto.
He said if travel insurance continues to exclude COVID-19 illnesses, many Canadians will refuse to travel, including his snowbird clients.
“I’m worried that the entire snowbird season, upcoming, could be put on ice … until such a time that there is a cure or a vaccine.”
CBC News reached out to several major insurance travel providers to find out if they would resume covering COVID-19-related issues when Canada lifts its travel advisory. They said they couldn’t make a definitive statement at this time.
What will air travel look like?
In Canada, the federal government has mandated that all air passengers wear face masks on planes, and in airports when social distancing isn’t possible.
Airlines are promising a long list of safety measures to protect passengers from catching COVID-19. Air Canada has implemented temperature checks, frequent cabin cleanings, and says strangers won’t have to sit side by side in economy class — which means the dreaded middle seat will remain empty.
WATCH | Airports and airlines develop new ways to help passengers feel safer:
Technology could play a big role as airports and airlines develop new ways to help passengers feel safer. 3:43
This month, the International Air Transport Association declared that, while it supports protective measures on planes, it opposes blocking the middle seat.
The association argues that the risk of virus transmission on board is low and axing middle seat sales will kill airline profits — unless ticket prices go up.
It’s important to note that, even if travel restrictions are lifted and airlines add more flights, any vacation plans could quickly fizzle if we’re hit with a severe second wave of COVID-19 in the fall.
TORONTO – Roots Corp. may have built its brand on all things comfy and cosy, but its CEO says activewear is now “really becoming a core part” of the brand.
The category, which at Roots spans leggings, tracksuits, sports bras and bike shorts, has seen such sustained double-digit growth that Meghan Roach plans to make it a key part of the business’ future.
“It’s an area … you will see us continue to expand upon,” she told analysts on a Friday call.
The Toronto-based retailer’s push into activewear has taken shape over many years and included several turns as the official designer and supplier of Team Canada’s Olympic uniform.
But consumers have had plenty of choice when it comes to workout gear and other apparel suited to their sporting needs. On top of the slew of athletic brands like Nike and Adidas, shoppers have also gravitated toward Lululemon Athletica Inc., Alo and Vuori, ramping up competition in the activewear category.
Roach feels Roots’ toehold in the category stems from the fit, feel and following its merchandise has cultivated.
“Our product really resonates with (shoppers) because you can wear it through multiple different use cases and occasions,” she said.
“We’ve been seeing customers come back again and again for some of these core products in our activewear collection.”
Her remarks came the same day as Roots revealed it lost $5.2 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $5.3 million in the same quarter last year.
The company said the second-quarter loss amounted to 13 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 3, the same as a year earlier.
In presenting the results, Roach reminded analysts that the first half of the year is usually “seasonally small,” representing just 30 per cent of the company’s annual sales.
Sales for the second quarter totalled $47.7 million, down from $49.4 million in the same quarter last year.
The move lower came as direct-to-consumer sales amounted to $36.4 million, down from $37.1 million a year earlier, as comparable sales edged down 0.2 per cent.
The numbers reflect the fact that Roots continued to grapple with inventory challenges in the company’s Cooper fleece line that first cropped up in its previous quarter.
Roots recently began to use artificial intelligence to assist with daily inventory replenishments and said more tools helping with allocation will go live in the next quarter.
Beyond that time period, the company intends to keep exploring AI and renovate more of its stores.
It will also re-evaluate its design ranks.
Roots announced Friday that chief product officer Karuna Scheinfeld has stepped down.
Rather than fill the role, the company plans to hire senior level design talent with international experience in the outdoor and activewear sectors who will take on tasks previously done by the chief product officer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, are set to resume today as a strike that has stopped most services drags into a second week.
No timeline has been set for the length of the negotiations, but Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they are willing to stay there as long as it takes, even if talks drag on all night.
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people unable to navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last Tuesday, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
Hundreds of drivers rallied outside TransLink’s head office earlier this week, calling for the transportation provider to intervene in the dispute with Transdev, which was contracted to oversee HandyDART service.
Transdev said earlier this week that it will provide a reply to the union’s latest proposal on Thursday.
A statement from the company said it “strongly believes” that their employees deserve fair wages, and that a fair contract “must balance the needs of their employees, clients and taxpayers.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – Travel company Transat AT Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year earlier as its revenue edged lower.
The parent company of Air Transat says it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31.
The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue in what was the company’s third quarter totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
Transat chief executive Annick Guérard says demand for leisure travel remains healthy, as evidenced by higher traffic, but consumers are increasingly price conscious given the current economic uncertainty.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
