tourism was one of the hardest hit industries in 2020.
With restrictions in place until this spring, vacation rental operators near Peterborough are hoping for the best as spring turns into summer.
“The low season for May and June is slower than usual, but July and August look good. Fall is not as good as usual, ”said Kitch Hill, manager of Scotsman Point Cottage Resort near Buckhorn, Ont. “Seems like everyone wants their summer vacation, but off-season people hesitate at this point.”
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Kitch tells Global News Peterborough that the 25-cottage resort has seen success so far due to the slower-than-normal shoulder season and that 2021 is looking similar to 2020 for bookings.
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And similar to last summer, all guests who have booked in advance are local Ontario tourists due to international border closings.
“It was like this year. July and August were very busy, but everyone wasn’t sure how new restrictions were being put in place, e.g. B. How many people could gather and if you had to stay in your bladder, ”said Kitch. “All of these things created a lot of uncertainty and people stayed away. We had stores but it wasn’t what it usually is. “
At Three Castles Resort in Buckhorn, owner Louis Melizan tells Global News Peterborough that winter and early spring were a different type of business.
He says he has four winterized cottages at the 18-unit resort that have been booked as long-term rentals for renters and snowbirds who have been to Canada this year.
Melizan also has vital local labor, which is allowed under the province’s current shutdown measures.
“I have people here who have no other place to live. I’m not going to tell them to go because it doesn’t make sense. I have a crew that comes in on Monday (to work on the bridge in Buckhorn). They start on Monday and need shelter because they are out of town, ”he said. “Obviously those who want to fish and sightsee are discouraged.”
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Melizan said it wasn’t fully booked for the summer but there had been a lot of interest.
He also pointed to a similar spring last year when restrictions were in place.
“We missed about five weeks of the season. Once the restrictions were lifted it went insane. The phone rang, ”Melizan said.
“I’m busy. We’re all busy. Obviously we want this pandemic to be over. The best way to do it is for everyone to stay home. If everyone had done that last year, it would have been over. People have the rules broken and that’s clear.
“I take my hat off to the provinces for trying to open up the economy and keep it moving, but at some point that’s too much and we may have crossed that line. It was a nightmare. “
Kitch and Melizan tell Global News Peterborough that physical distancing and improved cleaning practices are in place at both resorts.
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“We were hoping that this summer we would be in a better position and that companies would be able to reopen and reclaim revenue from their businesses,” said Christopher Bloore, vice president of policy and government for Tourism Industry Association of Ontario. TIAO).
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“As today’s announcement makes clear, it will be a difficult way forward. Our companies are ready to go. “
Bloore tells Global News Peterborough that federal support for wage and rental subsidies must remain in place to keep businesses solvent.
TIAO will remain in regular contact with the province as the closure continues and will ask that assistance be reassessed if this is long-term.
He also said that once restrictions are relaxed or lifted, it will be up to Ontarians to support the tourism sector to keep business open.
“As soon as they get the bumps in their arms or when they’re more comfortable, travel again to see Ontario and areas of Ontario that they haven’t seen before,” said Bloore. “If we can divert some of the money that is normally left over for international travel into our domestic economy, we can actually reverse some of the damage that has been done over the past 13 months.
“We know that if only 2/3 of those who travel internationally take a provincial vacation it could generate $ 19.4 billion in economic activity and create 150,000 jobs that have been lost in the past 12 months.”
The Trent-Severn Waterway is also a major driver of tourism in the Peterborough area.
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Subject to any delays, it will open for the summer navigation season on May 21st.
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