Page 33 - TFWA World Exhibit 2022 Special Edition

INSIDER

Canada border businesses down 45% as FDFA Economic Report shows

export business not recovering due to barriers to border travel

The Frontier Duty Free Association “When this pandemic began, our measures are no longer meaningful or
(FDFA) released an economic report in border businesses followed public health helpful and only serve to harm border
August showing that the severe economic measures and federal recommendations. communities and border community
decline for the peak summer tourist When COVID-19 was at its peak and businesses. Recovery depends on the
season has resulted in subnormal sales border measures were effective at slowing Canada/U.S. border getting back to normal.
for member stores across the country. The transmission rates, we did our part to keep “This is a matter of fairness,” said
report records an average sales decrease Canadians safe,” said FDFA Executive Barrett. “As long as these barriers to travel
hovering around 45% compared to before Director, Barbara Barrett. “Now, we have remain on our land border, we cannot
the pandemic. been left behind in the recovery effort as recover and border businesses like ours
These export stores were shuttered for restrictions and the ArriveCan App are and border communities will continue to
nearly two years and were down over 95% still barriers. And even worse, the federal struggle.”
in sales during the full closure of the land government has ceased all of its supports.” FDFA has presented the federal
border for over 18 months. Barrett points out that air travel has government with a suggested recovery
The FDFA reports that the COVID-19 been allowed to resume in such high package in light of the fact that border
pandemic and the U.S./Canada border volume that Canada’s air infrastructure traffic is being restricted on an ongoing
closure had a devastating impact on is struggling to process the number of basis.
Canada’s land border duty free industry travelers and unvaccinated travelers are Barrett added, “Our retailers closed
and recovery is stalled due to Canada’s clear to travel thousands of kilometers to protect Canadians and we deserve not to
federal travel restrictions and the required across Canada. Land borders, on the be left behind. These unnecessary border
use of the ArriveCan app. The association other hand, are regulated at the expense measures are killing a 40-year-old export
stresses that its land border duty free of communities whose entire livelihood sector and doing nothing to help keep
stores are like many border community depend on the back-and-forth crossing of Canadians safe.”
businesses and border communities as a the Canada/U.S. border. The FDFA is the national association
whole that observed annual sales plummet The FDFA is calling on the federal representing Canada’s 32 land border duty
to historically low levels that have not fully government to lift the barriers to recovery free shops.
recovered even during the typically high and unnecessary conditions like the
summer season. ArriveCan app to cross borders. These

ECONOMIC REPORT
FDFA: Survey of sales losses 2019-2022 during Border Closure and
Border Measures

The COVID-19 pandemic and sales numbers from the 2019 pre-COVID all around the country, the seventeen
resulting U.S./Canada border closure and summer season. Seventeen companies respondents averaged a decrease in sales of
border measures have had a devastating participated in the survey, which compared 48.18 % between the Canada Day of 2019
impact on Canada’s land border duty free sales numbers for specific traditionally and the same day of 2022.
industry, reports the FDFA. high-traffic holidays.
Canadian travel restrictions resulted The survey indicates the hardship that July
in many of FDFA’s members seeing sales Canada’s land border duty free industry has The entire prime summer travel time
plummet to historically low levels (90-95% suffered. of July saw sales among the 17 respondents
down compared to pre-pandemic). Once Every profitable flagship period of register a decrease, on average, of 44.82%.
restrictions were lifted, many barriers the summer has resulted in disappointing
remained, such as vaccination requirements sales for members across the country, with July Fourth
and ArriveCan App, which created major an average sales decrease around 45% The American holiday, normally a
disincentives to travel across the border. for the seventeen respondents. The FDFA busy cross-border travel time, saw 2022
The consequence of that was the inability is calling for the government to adopt its sales decrease by an average of 44.5% in
of duty free shops to capitalize on the most solutions to avoid a similar situation in the comparison to 2019.
profitable windows of the summer season. summer of 2023.
The FDFA surveyed it members to August Long Weekend
identify the size of the losses that have Canada Day On average, members noted a decrease
occurred during the summer season of For Canada Day, one the busiest in sales of 46.7% for the long weekend for
2022. As a benchmark, the survey used period for tourism related businesses the end of July to the beginning of August.

33 October 2022