Welcome tourists

The sun finally is shining again, and the early forecast for the Victoria Day long weekend is calling for fair skies and gradually warming temperatures.
In other words, ideal conditions to kick off the “summer” season.
Unfortunately, the picture is much more gloomy for area tourist operators, who must be wondering these days how many more hurdles can be thrown their way. If it’s not guests being turned back at the border, it’s high gas prices that threaten to keep travellers closer to home this year.
The soaring loonie certainly won’t help as vacations in Canada suddenly cost more for American visitors. And, of course, there’s the whole fiasco over U.S. legislation that soon will require all people entering that country (including Americans) to have a passport.
Tourist operators certainly can be forgiven for their exasperation, particularly when a guest is refused entry to Canada for a “mistake” in their past while at the same time Onterrio Smith, the former Minnesota Viking running back suspended by the NFL for violating its substance abuse policy, is being given the red carpet treatment as the saviour of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Talk about hypocrisy.
But to their credit, they aren’t waving the white flag, either. A joint initiative with Canada Customs aims to make crossing the border less of a hassle for Americans, and local operators are involved with the push to get the passport requirement delayed—if not scrapped altogether.
Yes, tourist operators must adapt to the changing world in order to survive. But the rest of us also must help by doing our part to warmly welcome visitors each summer. After all, we all have a stake in ensuring Northwestern Ontario remains a vacation paradise for generations to come.