Quebec steps up to support aching tourism and hotels: reaction from the Hotel Association of Canada

In light of today’s Government of Quebec announcement concerning significant financial commitments for the recovery of its tourism and hotel sector, the President of the Hotel Association of Canada Susie Grynol declared as follows:

“The Hotel Association of Canada and its Quebec partner the Association Hôtellerie Québec have been working very closely with governments to raise awareness on the extremely complicated and precarious situation of hotels across the country. As choice employers of 300,000 Canadians and operators of structuring infrastructures for businesses and communities in every city and town, hotels have been hit first and the hardest by COVID-19, and will take the longest to recover. While federal response programs such as the wage subsidy, interest-free loans and limited loan guaranteed for SMBs have helped, they will not replace the critical mass of leisure and business travellers needed for Canadian hotels and their tourism partners to continue operating sustainably and profitably,” declared Susie Grynol.

“With its $753 millions injected directly into supporting tourism and hotels in Quebec and the strong encouragement to enjoy the summer responsibly, the Government of Quebec recognizes that the tourism and hotel sectors are important vectors of economic development in cities and regions across its territory, are choice employers and boast Quebec as a destination to visit. While these commitments are critical for ensuring our sector survives the pandemic, we need to ensure that Canada has a plan in place to get Canadians travelling again this summer. Canadian hoteliers and I are calling on the Government of Canada and the governments of all Provinces to follow Quebec’s example: invest in the tourism and hotel sectors now with robust recovery and restart plans to ensure these infrastructures and jobs can continue to support Canada’s economy in cities and towns big and small,” concluded Grynol.

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