Canada’s short-staffed tourism sector prepares for border reopening and influx of US visitors

After surviving more than a year of restrictions, Canada’s tourism sector is looking forward to resuming business

However, many operators are scrambling to employ staff to cater to the increase in US visitors

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The US border with Canada is about to reopen and the tourism sector is struggling to find staff to meet the demand. An aerial view of Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 10:15pm, 9 Aug 2021Updated: 9:01am, 11 Aug 2021

Anna Pierce, the vice-president and general manager of Niagara Helicopters, an Ontario-based helicopter tour company, describes operations during the Covid-19 pandemic as a “terrible roller coaster”, with travel restrictions for domestic and international travellers curbing business dramatically.

“On a typical day [before the pandemic], we would do upwards of 80 flights with six passengers in each flight,” she says. “It went down to as low as four flights a day last summer.”

Pierce hopes the border reopening date will allow Niagara Helicopters to salvage reservations made for September and October, a popular time when the leaves change colour at Niagara Falls. However, the company is lacking one key component: staffing.

The company has 18 employees, fewer than half of what it normally has. Pierce says the company needs at least 24, but employees are so in demand that she gets a handful of no-shows every time she sets up interviews.

The Canadian and American flags fly above the Peace Arch Border crossing between Canada and the United States, near Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia. Photo: Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

“People are just being snapped up left, right and centre. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Pierce says. “We’re not expecting business to surge to 2019 levels, but we’re hoping for the best [when travel restrictions ease] and we hope we have enough employees.”