When the testing requirement for crossing the border ends on Friday, tourism operators across Windsor-Essex will celebrate the milestone.
As of April 1, fully vaccinated Americans can cross the border relatively hassle-free. The hope is they will return in force for the first tourism season since the pandemic struck.
Ambassador Bridge. (Photo by Jason Viau)
As CEO of Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island, Gordon Orr has witnessed struggles across the sector and is keeping his fingers crossed.
"What this does is it helps signal the fact that our path to reopening is one step closer to the recovery phase," he said.
A full recovery may still be a few years off. Orr does not expect tourists from the U.S. to hit pre-pandemic numbers until 2024 at the earliest. Tourism was one of the first industries to suffer the impact of COVID-19 restrictions. Orr said it was hit the hardest and will take the longest to recover.
"We really have had zero American visitors at any stretch throughout the last two years," Orr noted. "It makes it very, very difficult to help sustain the hospitality and tourism industry."
Tourism Windsor-Essex Pelee Island CEO Gordon Orr speaks at a tourism week event in downtown Windsor, June 2, 2015. (Photo by Mike Vlasveld)
According to Orr, Caesars Windsor, the region's biggest tourism draw, relies on Americans for a third of its business, while they account for a quarter of tourists visiting local wineries.
Visitors from Windsor and Essex County helped keep many businesses alive during the pandemic, but Orr said many changed their business model, others took on debt, and some didn't survive.
Still, Orr is optimistic an uptick in visitors this spring will strengthen the summer season.
The Mayo Clinic in the U.S. released data earlier this week showing 65.5 per cent of Americans have had both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. That's over 217-million people.
Those that have only had one shot, or none, will still need a valid negative antigen test to enter Canada within one day of their arrival.
