Sticker shock, border delays sour hopes for Canadian travel boom

FILE PHOTO: Travellers crowd the security queue in the departures lounge at the start of the Victoria Day holiday long weekend at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, May 20, 2022. REUTERS/Cole Burston/File Photo

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Rising prices, border restrictions and airport chaos are threatening hopes for a post-pandemic summer travel boom in Canada, stalling a tourism recovery and taking the sheen off the country as a destination, analysts and industry executives say.

Tourism spending in Canada remains 34% below 2019 levels despite strong gains over the last year, official data shows. With most COVID-19 restrictions lifted, the Canadian travel industry had hoped 2022 would be the year when domestic tourism at least returned to normal volumes.