SOUND OFF: As tourism industry begins post-pandemic recovery, more uncertainty looms

AFTER MORE THAN TWO YEARS of living under COVID-19 restrictions, the tourism industry has been hoping this year will be the year to start getting back to a semblance of normal. Many restrictions have been lifted regarding masks and occupancy limits, restaurants and hotels are eagerly waiting to throw open their doors and maybe earn a few dollars in 2022.

But that has now been tempered by record inflation, heavy jumps in gas prices and the cost of basic food. Gas prices have jumped 38 per cent in the past year. Restaurants are looking at the rising cost of wheat and corn, and other basic staples.

So rather than a rosy glow on the tourism horizon, it has become a little more clouded. It’s not a doom-and-gloom situation by any means, but it comes down to whether or not the easing of pandemic restrictions will cause families and seniors to want to take advantage of post-pandemic freedom to finally get out of the house and back on the road, or will $2.00-a-liter gas and the cost of basic living hold them back?

I hope for the sake of an industry that’s been battered and bruised that it’s the former and not the latter.