Border towns hopeful changes in travel testing requirements will improve business

As of Feb. 28, fully vaccinated travellers coming into Canada now have more options when it comes to pre-arrival testing — and businesses on both sides of the border are hoping this will help increase tourism spending. 

Molecular tests, such as a PCR tests, will still be accepted within 72 hours of arrival, but Canada will now also accept rapid antigen tests administered by a lab, healthcare provider or telehealth service, within 24 hours of arrival by flight or at a land border.

Rapid anitgen tests are usually cheaper than PCR tests and results can be turned around much faster. 

Included in the easing of some travel restrictions, the federal government is also no longer advising Canadians not to travel for non-essential purposes. 

This is welcome news to Erin Crane, CEO of Tourism Lethbridge.

"We're quite excited here," she said. "I think any type of reducing of those restrictions is going to help our industry and the tourism operators within the region."

Lethbridge, Alta. is about a one hour drive north of the Canada-U.S. border and serves as a popular hub for travellers heading in and out of the country.

However, pandemic border restrictions have lead to fewer people passing through, said Crane. 

"That's been probably one of the hardest things, is not capturing some of that traffic that usually comes through this area."

Restaurants and hotels have been some of the hardest hit businesses, she added.

"It has been really difficult. And throughout the tourism industry, we always talk about being the first hit, about being the hardest hit, and that we will most likely be one of the last to recover," she said.

"So all of these reductions in restrictions is going to help immensely."

On the other side of the border in Great Falls, Mont., Shane Etzwiler, CEO of the chamber of commerce, is hopeful that this change in testing requirements will encourage more Canadians to travel south.

"We're excited about the opportunity. We love our Canadian neighbours," said Etzwiler. 

Great Falls is a popular spot for Albertans crossing the border to go shopping. It's also where many Canadians used to drive 200 km south of the border to fly out of the city's airport.

The pandemic and border restrictions has changed that.

"When everything happened, we definitely saw the impact and not even just locally as far as shopping, staying in our hotels and even our restaurants, but also our airlines." 

And while traffic is starting to increase again, Etzwiler estimates that Great Falls is still seeing about a 50 per cent decrease in Canadian visitors.

"I think as things are made easier and restrictions are relaxed, you know, that's a win-win for both of us, on the U.S. side and for the folks on the Canadian side as well," said Etzwiler.

'Not that helpful'

However, not everyone feels this change in travel restrictions will make a big difference.

"It's a very small step and it's really not that helpful. The tests at the border needs to be eliminated altogether," said Barbara Barrett, executive director of the Frontier Duty-Free Association, which represents the land border duty free stores across Canada. 

Many duty-free stores along the land border have either temporarily closed or been open intermittently over the past two years. 

"We have been crippled by this pandemic," said Barrett.

When Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos made the announcement about travel restriction changes earlier in February, he said further testing measures could be dropped in the future, such as the testing requirement for Canadians visiting the United States for trips under 72 hours, as long as conditions continue to improve.

Some doctors have argued that travel testing is unnecessary now, but others say it adds a useful extra layer of protection. 

Barrett thinks rapid antigen tests will still deter people from travelling, because they have to be administered by a health professional and they aren't free.

"[They] are a barrier to people being able to flow over over the border in an easy way, and it's not helpful."