Border restrictions dealt a 'devastating blow' to Carcross this summer, says business owner

A business owner in Carcross, Yukon, says the local tourism industry has not bounced back to pre-pandemic levels, and border restrictions through the 2022 season majorly affected business in the area.

Jacqueline St. Jacques runs Yukon Rustic Jewelry from her cabin near Carcross, and after two slow pandemic years, she was hopeful leading up to the 2022 season.

But then she heard White Pass & Yukon Route would not be running a train into Carcross for the 2022 season. 

"Government officials might not have been aware of the situation, and the impact that that would have had on us," St. Jacques said. "But we, who have been operating our businesses for years in this area, knew right away that was a devastating blow for us."

Carcross is typically one of Yukon's most-visited communities by tourists. It's a short drive from both Whitehorse and the busy cruise ship port of Skagway, Alaska.

Before the pandemic, the seasonal White Pass & Yukon Route would bring scores of cruise ship passengers from Skagway across the border to Carcross on sightseeing day-trips. St. Jacques estimates the vast majority of tourism business in the area is generated by the train route and similar or affiliated bus tours.

St. Jacques said her revenues were down 60 per cent this year from 2019, and that she'd heard similar stories from other business owners in the area.

"We didn't make enough money to even keep us going this winter. So we're going to be starting next year in the red again," St. Jacques said.

Border requirements a factor

The Carcross Visitors Centre registered just over 25,000 tourists this summer, according to the Yukon's Department of Tourism and Culture. That's down from over 100,000 recorded visitors in 2019.

White Pass & Yukon Route said pandemic-related border restrictions played a role in the choice not to run the route to Carcross, with delays being the main concern.

Passengers crossing from the U.S. into Canada were required to complete the ArriveCAN app through the summer, providing vaccination status and other information. Tyler Rose, executive director of human resources and strategic planning for White Pass & Yukon Route, said it was hard for the railway to plan how long it would take to get through the border crossing and to know how that would affect their schedules.

"How we integrate with cruise ship schedules, with highway schedules, bus services — we would just not be able to provide the experience that our guests would demand," he said.

The efficacy and necessity of ArriveCAN was called into question multiple times throughout the summer, with several complaints coming from business owners and towns along the Canada-U.S. border.

ArriveCAN is no longer a requirement for travellers entering Canada, and Rose said the train route is planning to operate for the 2023 season.

Efforts made to ease process

Ranj Pillai, the Yukon's minister of tourism and culture, said the Yukon government tried to ease some challenges by allowing passengers to fill out ArriveCAN before getting to the border.

"That was key because early on, there was no ability to get access to WIFI at that area," Pillai said.

He added the government tried to connect tour operators with the Canadian Border Services Agency to try to work out solutions. Still, Pillai said, the restrictions had an impact on visitor numbers.

Yukon MP Brendan Hanley said he was aware of the concerns of some businesses, and communicated those concerns to federal Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault. Though he was aware of the restrictions, Hanley said, it was hard for the federal government to decide when and how to ease restrictions.

"It does take a lot, sometimes, to really understand the consequences of making changes in requirements and doing that due diligence and risk assessment," Hanley said.

But St. Jacques said she reached out to the Yukon Government and the MP's office several times throughout the season and was disappointed by the government response.

"[Government] knew the impact that COVID had on tourism," she said. "And yet it was another government body that basically killed our business this year."