ACTA pressures government to provide more aid for travel agencies in new campaign

ACTA is launching a new letter writing campaign that aims to put pressure on the Canadian government to provide financial aid for the travel agency sector.

“The government has told us that it is their priority to get financial aid into the hands of as many Canadians as possible,” said Wendy Paradis, president, ACTA.  “However, in addition to what is already in place, ACTA has made it clear to the government that urgent sector specific aid is required to support travel agents and agencies through the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“We have explained that travel agents and agencies are a critical component of both the tourism and airline industries, who are also asking for sector specific aid," she added.

Paradis said ACTA knows that the travel industry will lag behind other industries in recovering – in part due to travel advisories still being in place, closed borders, airline routes not operating, cruise ships suspended operations, etc.

ACTA is asking the government for help beyond mid-June when it is expected that most other businesses will be reopened.  We want to ensure that travel agents and agencies are included in our own sector specific aid of the broader travel, tourism and hospitality industries—including airlines, destinations, hotels, attractions, and restaurants.

ACTA is asking the government for travel agency relief including: GST/HST relief, not deferment; payroll tax relief;  extension of the 75 per cent wage subsidy; specific loan facilities; and the extension of the CERB program from 16 to 39 weeks.

Download a copy of the letter here.

Please join ACTA’s Twitter campaign too

While the new letter writing campaign rolls out this week, ACTA is asking that industry members continue retweeting ACTA’s social media posts. Twitter is the preferred form of social media within the government and the Parliamentary Press Gallery, and hence ACTA’s focused attention on targeting messaging through this communication tool.

“We urge industry members to join Twitter and retweet our tweets,” said Paradis.  You can find ACTA on Twitter @ACTACanada.

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