The Provincial Advisory Council on Tourism has released its interim report on local industry.
The report looks at the impacts of COVID, air access, and economic recovery after what has been a devastating year for many tourism operators.
The results of a March survey of NL tourism businesses indicated that 45 per cent of respondents will not reopen in 2022 if they do not open this year.
Employment in the tourism industry fell by 15,000 workers in February of 2021 compared to January, according to a Stats Canada Labour Force Survey released last week.
The report recommends reopening the industry to vaccinated Canadian travelers who have a negative COVID test pre-departure based on current vaccine timelines.
It also recommends that under current vaccine timelines, that the province “send a clear signal of July 1 or earlier if evidence dictates, on a date for reopening the province to fellow Canadians.”