The COVID-19 pandemic will be over someday — maybe this year, thanks to vaccines, and maybe with a whimper, or maybe with a bang.
We need to start planning for what our community, and our world, will look like. The correct decisions now will help us recover more quickly.
Through the pandemic, some businesses — big-box stores, online retailers, home improvement and decorating places, among others — are thriving, many others are suffering and at risk of permanent closure.
At the top of that list you will find just about anything to do with tourism and the hospitality sector. And that is bad news in Greater Victoria, where so much of our economy is driven by visitors.
A healthy economy is vital because of the jobs it provides. We need to be able to bring back jobs as quickly as we can, for the health and well-being of everyone in our community.
The tourism sector needs help — meaningful help, quickly — to get through 2021. And no level of government can claim to be unaware of that need.
John Wilson, the CEO of Wilson’s Transportation, has been clear about the impact of the pandemic on his business. When he says many operators in the motor coach industry are facing permanent closure in the next two or three months if they do not get financial aid, governments need to take him seriously, and respond.
The first step might be to stop thinking of Wilson’s as just another private enterprise. It is a crucial part of the local infrastructure. Amazon might be able to step in when a local retailer closes, but Amazon would not be able to take the place of essential infrastructure.
If Wilson’s is forced to close, no other company could create a new service quickly enough to help many in the tourism sector survive. The lasting damage would be huge.
In 2018, tourism accounted for more than $20.5 billion in revenue for more than 19,000 businesses. Many of those businesses rely on motor coaches, which get people from place to place.
Consider the number of motor coaches at Butchart Gardens during prime tourist season. Without those buses, what will happen to those visitors? Will they get to the Island’s most famous attraction by taxi? By public transit? Or will they simply not go?
The cruise industry relies on a network of motor coaches to get passengers to local destinations. When cruise ships return, we need to have buses ready to go. Cruise lines need to offer their passengers something more than a chance to walk to and from downtown Victoria.
We should expect local tourism to spring back sooner than international travel does. Some traditionally popular sun destinations will be well behind Canada in rolling out the vaccines, so they will not be safe places to visit for a while. Vancouver Island will be safe — and we need to be prepared for the rush of business.
And, as Wilson has said, motor coaches provide many services beyond tourism.
They give workers access to major industrial projects. They take people to and from downtown Vancouver, thanks to the B.C. Ferries Connector, which is run by Wilson’s. They provide inter-city service to communities throughout the province, giving people without vehicles a chance to get around. For many people, these coaches are essential to their quality of life.
All of this boils down to one key point: Motor coaches are an essential part of infrastructure. We would not let a bridge or a highway close because of COVID-19, and we should not let the motor coach industry close either.
The environmental benefits of motor coaches, compared to a fleet of private vehicles, are merely icing on the cake, in terms of the argument for government support.
It needs to come, and quickly — while there is still a chance to keep the fleets of buses ready for use in a few months, when the pandemic is over.
