Lodge owners in the northwest are excited about the prospects of getting back to normal operations next season with the elimination of COVID-19 vaccination requirements.
At the end of September, the federal government removed the requirement that travellers from the United States needed to be fully vaccinated, with the use of the ArriveCan app no longer mandatory.
Eric Brown, president of Totem Resorts in Sioux Narrows, said the changes have made a big difference.
“It’s been huge, we put out a bulletin right away, and a newsletter as soon as that was announced… our phones have been ringing off the hook,” he said. “I mean if this had waited until Jan. 1, they would have already made their plans for next year.
“Companies are putting their budgets together, so you’re back in the mix now. So I’m quoting these groups that put their budgets together in September and October for the next year.”
Brown said the industry was decimated over the last two years.
“Maybe 50 percent of places in our area had to shut down for good. And that’s really sad,” Brown said. “And we’re stretched to the max. But, because we’re one of the bigger ones, our banks went along with us. We’ve got a big debt load.”
Brown said his business was down 90 percent in 2020, because so many of his guests were American tourists.
Even though it’s gone up since, Brown said the business is still down more than 25 percent, even with an open border.
Brown said the removal of the restrictions is, “the best thing that’s happened to us, maybe that I can even think of in my, I’ve been here 45 years. It's huge, that’s all I can tell you, a real Godsend.”
Jackie Duhamel, a co-owner for Anderson’s Lodge in Sioux Lookout, said her business had already begun to recover this year with her customers being fully vaccinated and eligible to stay.
Duhamel said the change will have a positive effect and she’s expecting an increase in number of visitors for the 2023 season.
“Certainly, it’s a welcome announcement for the industry. It was total devastation for the last two years,” she added.
Jeff Moreau, the general manager of Temple Bay Lodge near Eagle River, said the changes are too late for this year, but it will help for next year.
“Going into our marketing season for 2023, it will definitely help to say that vaccinations are not required and that the ArriveCan [app] is optional,” he said.
Moreau said his lodge has had to be creative to keep adjusting to changing regulations in order to keep the business open during the pandemic.
He recounted turning the lodge restaurant into a takeout service, offering ice fishing, renting out pontoon boats and cabins for private use, and even offering wedding and funeral services.
“I became an ordained minister, so we could have services inside,” he said.
One silver lining, Moreau said, was fishing was fantastic because the pressure on fish stocks was reduced.
“The great reset, I’m calling it,” he said.
Groups that did come, he said, found the fishing to be better than they had ever experienced before, and led to them wanting to make second or third trips.
Moreau said lodge owners are still not out of the woods, and businesses still need government assistance to help promote the area.
“With gas going up, everything goes up. I have to pass that on to the customer,” he said. “And the customer who [has been vacationing] south of the border, some of those people are just never, ever going to return because it was cheaper for them to go to within United States.”
“We need help marketing wise to get people to come back to Canada.”
Both Moreau and Brown said their biggest issue going forward is finding enough staff as they struggled this past year.
“North America is struggling to find any workers who want to work, period,” said Moreau. “What we had to do, was we paid 15 year olds that we had to hire like summer students that came in. We paid them 18 bucks an hour and we housed them and fed them for free.”
Brown said he had to do the similar thing to attract workers this year.
He said he wouldn’t be ready if he had to open fully right now, so the timing is good, because next year's season is already quickly approaching.
“I don’t know how that’s going to work out going forward. it’s going to be really tough to see how everybody fares, but all I can do is say “Thank you to Canada for giving us a chance,” Brown said.
