Mayor Bill Mauro and the CEO of the CEDC spent Tuesday night fielding questions about what they are doing to help the tourism and the restaurant industry weather the COVID-19 storm.
CEDC CEO Eric Zakrewski said they have been working behind the scenes on promotional campaigns and ads looking to drive more interest in local businesses but are waiting for the provincial government to loosen restrictions first.
“We are going to target tourism, that one needs help. We gotta get people out and spending, we have campaigns ready but we are waiting just like everyone for the province to say when we can ease physical distancing restrictions,” Zakrewski said.
Zakrewski notes the CEDC has been supporting all Thunder Bay businesses whether they are large like Bombardier or small like young entrepreneur-run local business. The CEDC says they are helping businesses prepare for when they will be able to reopen.
When it comes to restaurants struggling to keep their heads above water, the CEDC CEO gave local eateries props for pivoting quickly to offer contactless delivery and take-out options.
Zakrewski notes he has heard that some national restaurants will not be able to reopen following the pandemic and says they continue to offer their help to local chains and independent eateries.
“Certainly we know that there is a lot of struggle, the bills keep coming in, there’s rent to pay, and there are some federal programs that can help but it may not be enough,” Zakrewski said.
“We saw companies that never offered take-out before turn around and offer that. They are going digital and they continue to evolve. It’s not the best situation, they do better when they can open, but I think they’ll be able to make it out of this,” Zakrewski said.
The CEDC CEO notes it could take up to three years before the City of Thunder Bay’s businesses and tourist industry return to pre-pandemic levels.
“We feel that 2019 was a strong year for Thunder Bay with lots of attractions and sports tourism. It’s going to take some time for growth to return to 2019 levels,” Zakrewski said.
Zakrewski feels the first step will be having locals return to going out and enjoying attractions, the second step would be people in the region choosing to visit Thunder Bay, followed by inter-provincial travel with people from southern Ontario and Manitoba visiting Thunder Bay. Zakrewski says the final step would be for reopening the US border and bringing back the tourists from Minnesota.
“It’s going to be a little bit slow, but slow and steady,” Zakrewski noted.
