Kingston business interest groups want tourists to come to the city this summer, but because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, they’re aiming for a very specific type of tourist.
“We’re certainly looking to welcome residents as well as visitors from the southeastern Ontario regional bubble, as approved by KFL&A Public Health,” said Krista LeClair, executive director of Kingston Accommodation Partners.
Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington were among the 24 public health regions that will be allowed to move on to Phase 2 of Ontario’s reopening plan Friday.
Under Phase 2, many services, like tour and guide services, beaches and water recreational facilities, outdoor recreational facilities, restaurant patios, attractions and heritage institutions will be available in Kingston.
“The tourism sector is a significant driver of the local economy which represents close to a thousand small, independent businesses that employ over 10,000 Kingstonians,” said Donna Gillespie, head of Kingston Economic Development Corporation.
This means its tourism industry has a lot to lose this summer, according to the Conference Board of Canada.
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The city was ranked fourth on the list of cities most at risk to have its food and accommodations services impacted due to COVID-19.
Officials hope that Kingstonians will invest in “staycations,” and that those in regions nearby, like Brockville and Belleville, will visit.
“Businesses have been working really hard with KFL&A Public Health to make sure they have all safety protocols set up to make sure they can reopen safely and welcome people,” LeClair said.
Previously, regional reopening was struck down by Premier Doug Ford after Kingston officials asked for more local control over restrictions, but the idea eventually won out. Many municipalities were given the green light to slowly reopen on Friday, but larger urban centres like the Greater Toronto Area will not be able to.
Ford’s original concerns about staggering reopenings across the province were that people from high-risk areas might travel to places like Kingston, bringing the wvirus along with them.
“If they loosen up restrictions in one area, guess where all the people from Toronto and the GTA are going to go have dinner? … They’re all going to flock to Kingston, and I don’t think that would be very fair to that jurisdiction have all those people coming in, in one shot like that,” Ford said in a press conference on May 6.
Dr. Kieran Moore, medical officer of health for KFL&A Public Health, acknowledged there is risk in inviting tourists to the Kingston area, which has no active cases of COVID-19.
“Just understand that people have the freedom to travel within Ontario, that there is a risk that individuals with COVID-19 may travel to our region and inadvertently spread the virus,” Moore said. “And hence, the only way an individual could reduce the risk is maintaining all those best practices that we’ve been preaching over the last several months.”
Moore said he believes the city is in a good position when it comes to hospital capacity and the ability to contact trace, but case numbers are likely to change as the economy restarts.
“It is inevitable that we will have the odd individual testing positive in our community.”
If the disease starts spreading more consistently at the local level, Moore said officials have a plan.
“If we reach more than 10 cases per 100,000 in one week, so that would be 20 cases in KFL&A in one week, we will sound the alarm bells and reinforce the basic principles of hand hygiene and cough etiquette and masking and early, early aggressive testing for symptomatic or asymptomatic individuals,” he said.
Public health officials currently have capacity to treat 100 new cases a week, he added.
No surge like this has been seen in the KFL&A region, with only 63 cases to date.
As for staying safe while the Kingston area reopens to outsiders, Moore said it’s important to focus on who you’re interacting with and continue to practice social distancing, hygiene measures and mask-wearing while you’re out.
“We will not let our guard down. We are going to remain vigilant for the next year or longer, as long as it takes.”
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