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This looks to be a bounce back year for tourism in northern Ontario, but there are clouds on the horizon.
Transport Canada has new regulations for flight fatigue saying pilots can’t be on duty for any longer than eight hours at a time.
Laurie Marcil is executive director of Nature and Outdoor Tourism Ontario and says that puts undue pressure on tourist outfitters.
“Really limiting the time that a pilot can be on duty for a day to eight hours is a real concern,” states Marcil.
“It means that operators are having to figure out how to manage these things.”
Marcil suggests it could harm tourist outfitters that are looking forward to a more normal season.
“Everything is moving in the right direction. Its just that these regulations are definitely a challenge. I mean we’re already seen work force challenges in all fields within tourism.”
Marcil says not only is tourism affected, but also pilots who fly to mines, First Nation communities in the north or do medivacs.
She does add that this is the first year there hasn’t been any COVID regulations in place, but tourist outfitters face other challenges.
“Many of them, not all of them, but many have taken part in the loans program offered by the federal government. Those loans are now coming due this year this year. So that’s going to be a big challenge. They have to have a good solid year.”
Marcil says while there is a sense of optimism in the tourist industry, inflation means everything is costing more from fuel, to insurance to food.