By Nicole Di Tomasso
Ontario is lifting provincial border restrictions with Manitoba and Quebec, allowing people to enter the province at their own leisure.
The closure forbidding travel into Ontario from Quebec and Manitoba was put in place in April. Under the travel ban, anyone entering Ontario for purposes other than work, healthcare services, transportation and delivery of goods and services or exercising Indigenous or treaty rights was denied entry.
The end of the border closure is welcome news for the hospitality and tourism industry as it looks to kick off its recovery.
“Interprovincial travel is so important for the industry. There’s a huge pressure on the ability of the hospitality industry to operate now and as we move into a faster recovery. We’re anticipating a summer that’s hyperlocal, and now we need to fill those rooms in the hotels and fill those patios in restaurants with travellers,” says Tony Elenis, president and CEO of Ontario Restaurant Hotel and Motel Association. “The quicker we can accelerate not only interprovincial borders but international borders, the better it will be for sustaining the industry.”
“This positive step is welcomed as we continue to work on the recovery of the tourism industry,” says the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO) on Twitter.
