The Yukon Party is calling on the Liberal government to enhance and extend the recovery package for the accommodation sector.

After months of delays on October 19, the Liberal government announced just one small piece of a tourism recovery package.

The Tourism Accommodation Sector Supplement provides support to the accommodation sector only for the period of October 1 to December 31. The Yukon Party is asking for this to be extended to March 31, 2021.

“Given that there is no indication that the tourism or accommodation sector will suddenly rebound at the end of December, it is shortsighted and unfair to the tourism industry for the Liberals to only provide this funding for 3 months,” said Wade Istchenko, Official Opposition Critic for Economic and Tourism Recovery. “Businesses need time to plan so that they can make informed decisions about their future. We should give them the certainty that this funding program will be around for at least 6 months while governments around the world try to get the pandemic under control.”

According to Department of Economic Development documents, they do not expect the tourism sector to fully recover until 2023 at the earliest.

The Liberal government has been asked to extend the program twice during Question Period and has not provided a clear response.

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