A total of $59.2 billion financial loss and a 53 percent decrease in contribution to GDP has been caused by the Coronavirus pandemic to Canada’s travel and tourism sector last year. In addition, the devastating situation provoked by the COVID-19 left 373,000 people engaged in the country’s travel and tourism sector jobless, facing many difficulties. According to WTTC’s Senior Vice President, Virginia Messina, such losses revealed by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) ’s Economic Impact Report (EIR) have left “huge numbers of people fearing for the future”. Based on EIR’s report, in 2019, Canada’s travel and tourism sector contribution to GDP was $111.6 billion or 6.4 percent, while just 12 months later, it marked a 3.2 percent decrease to $52.4 billion. In addition, the number of women, youth, and minorities employed in the travel and tourism sector in the North American country declined from 1.8 million in 2019 to 1.4 million in 2020, or (20.9 percent decrease).
Domestic visitor spending decreased by 51 percent last year. In comparison, international spending dropped by 71.1 percent due to stringent travel restrictions imposed to prevent the virus’s further spread. Even though the decrease in the travel and tourism sector was profound last year, the figures could have been worse if not for the government’s Emergency Wage Subsidy scheme, which helped employers keep their jobs amid the COVID-19 situation, EIR’s report stressed. “However, the situation could have been far worse if it were not for the government’s Emergency Wage Subsidy scheme which supported up to 75 percent of wage subsidy to eligible employers and in turn, allowed many to keep their jobs in the suffering Travel & Tourism sector,” WTTC’s Senior Vice President pointed out. Read more details about this news here. Traveling is fun and interesting, regardless of the reason for your trip. However, few things dampen your enjoyment like paying way too much for travel needs. This article will address a few ways you can help to minimize travel expenses.
Once you have picked a destination, learn everything you can about the area. Find a map of where you will be visiting and study it for locations you plan to visit. This will give you ideas on the different activities that you can do. Planning ahead is the number one rule of flying. It can take much more time then expected to get to airports in major cities because of traffic. Always do your packing the night before you travel. Get yourself completely ready to go the night before your trip. There is little else that could be worse than not making your flight. Don't rely on the airline you're flying with to cater to your every need, even if you're going on a long distance flight. Travel with your own blanket, pillow and entertainment if you believe that you may need them. Don't go hungry! Bring your own healthy snacks on the plane! When embarking on a cruise, find a hotel nearby that has free parking, and spend the night before the departure. Ask the hotel's staff when it comes to parking deals even though none are published. Carry a doorstop with you to give your hotel stay a little bit of extra security. There are times when extra security is a good idea. If the door on your room doesn't have an extra deadbolt or chain in addition to the main lock, place the door stopper beneath the door before you head to bed. Hit the gym before you board your flight. Long flights can be tedious. You may find your back or legs cramping from sitting in the same position for too long. Working out prior to a long flight can relax your body and reduce uncomfortable feelings in your body due to the flight. Check the dates on when your passport expires. Some countries have certain rules about the expiration. If it expires within a certain time frame, they will not allow you to come into their country. As long as the passport is not set to expire within the next six months, you should be fine for most countries; however, certain countries require eight months, or even up to one year. If you want to quickly adjust to another time zone, you should aim to keep yourself awake until around 8pm local time. Though you may be exhausted, succumbing to sleep earlier than you should may end up making your jet lag worse because you have not allowed your body to recalibrate. The faster you adjust to the local time, the faster you will get over jet lag. Following these tips should make your traveling adventures smoother and more enjoyable. It doesn't matter where you are traveling, you can relax and enjoy the journey more if you know that you are paying the least amount of money for the trip. |