As ACTA continues to advocate to governments for greater forgiveness and deferral of repayment on COVID loan programs including CEBA, RRRF, and HASCAP, the organization is launching a survey of industry members.
In the survey, travel agencies, host agencies and independent travel agents are being asked to share their current debt level and confidence in their capacity to repay government loans by December 31, 2023.
ACTA says the data and feedback provided through this survey is critical to its advocacy strategy on behalf of the industry.
The Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA), Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF), and Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program (HASCAP) are the focus of the survey. Travel and Tourism businesses accessed these federal loan programs en masse during the pandemic. However, ACTA says tight repayment terms are now impeding travel business recovery across Canada.
ACTA logo (Photo Credit: ACTA logo)
“We are also seeking information on preferred solutions for repayment, including increased loan forgiveness, extended repayment deadlines, and modification of loan terms,” said Wendy Paradis, ACTA President.
HASCAP loan repayment dates vary depending on the terms individual travel businesses would have established with their lending institution. The loans were made available to businesses during the pandemic by Canadian lending institutions and are 100% guaranteed by the Government of Canada.
“Our members and the travel industry as a whole continue to experience a very slow pace of financial recovery due to pandemic debt incurred. Escalating operational costs and unpredictable inflation are also a significant additional burden and making it impossible to repay federal loans by the current deadline,” said Paradis.
“We believe that with the first two financial quarters of 2023 now behind them, travel agencies, host agencies, and Independent Travel Advisors have timely data and perspective to share with respect to their debt levels, confidence in their ability to repay the federal loans, and preferred public policy solutions to assist their recovery,” she added.
ACTA will aggregate the responses; no individual travel businesses will be referenced. The deadline to complete survey is Friday, July 28 by 3pm EST / (Noon PST)
Topics From This Article to Explore
