Wildfires Are Causing Irreversible Harm To Tourism

The wildfires raging across Canada have resulted in summer tourists canceling or shortening their trips and caused numerous businesses in the hospitality industry to close. The impact of these fires has not remained domestic: the smoke from Quebec's wildfires has reached the United States, painting New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington's blue skies red.

A 2018 study conducted by Visit California analyzed the impact of previous Californian wildfires on the hospitality industry. They concluded that at the height of the wildfire's destruction, 11% of prospective tourists canceled their plans to visit the state; this resulted in California reporting a loss of approximately $20 million in their tourism industry during the month of the wildfires. Canadian provinces can expect similar losses in tourism, which is especially damaging as the country's economy is largely reliant on the industry. A large proponent of the reduction in tourism is the fear-mongering that occurs as a result of news headlines stressing the magnitude of the wildfires in the country. While the destruction of these fires is not to be minimized, a considerable amount of the country remains unaffected by the fires. The articles and headlines about the fires cause possible tourists to scrap the country as a whole, causing reduced economic stimulation in areas untouched by the fire, and even causing businesses to close.

However, tourism is suffering in locations that are truly burning more than anywhere else. Many businesses have been lost to the wildfires and people have lost their livelihoods. Hotel Depot is doing everything possible to ensure that hospitality clientele in these areas have access to necessary items throughout this natural disaster. While larger corporations can rebuild rather quickly, smaller local businesses will take much longer to go back into business, and many others will be forced to close down permanently. For instance, Quebec's wildfires coupled with previous pandemic restrictions have resulted in many wilderness outfitters closing during what otherwise would have been their busiest seasons. Numerous other businesses in Canada were on the brink of closing due to previous pandemic regulations preventing a regular influx of customers; paired with the damage from the wildfires, border delays, and increased gas prices, many of them cannot continue their business.