Photo: Contributed

The BC Hotel Association is pleading with its stakeholders to write letters to their MPs in an effort to get international tourists back into the province as soon as possible.

The federal government announced this week that, beginning in early July, fully vaccinated Canadians and permanent residents returning from international destinations will no longer have to do a hotel quarantine.

That does not apply to international travellers, however, and that is why the BCHA wants to apply pressure on the government to come up with a reopening plan for international tourists.

“With no incoming tourism and the ability for Canadian residents to travel more freely internationally, our industry risks losing critical local business as B.C. and Canadian residents may pivot to book vacations south of the border,” BCHA president and CEO Ingrid Jarrett wrote in a letter to the hospitality community.

The BCHA proudly supports the #OpenTheBorder campaign and recognizes that it is critical that a phased reopening plan be announced to give industry time to market, rehire, and prepare for international visitors.”

Jarrett called the last 15 months of the U.S.-Canada border closure “devastating” to the B.C. tourism and hospitality industry.

“It's time we begin welcoming vaccinated travellers from outside of Canada,” she said.