The future of the local hospitality industry will depend largely on the fate of the airline industry, both of which have been hard-hit by the pandemic says Hospitality NL.

The vast majority of all visitors to the province come from Ontario and the United States, two areas that have seen some of the highest COVID numbers.

Travel bans were imposed by public health officials early in the pandemic to help prevent the spread of the virus in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Chair of Hospitality NL Brenda O’Reilly says the roll-out of vaccines is providing great reason for optimism, but the resurrection of the tourism and hospitality industry will depend on the survival of the airlines.

She says that’s all part of ongoing discussions with government.

O’Reilly says both industries need one another. She says many tourism operators are open, but they are still losing a lot of money in the meantime.

View the article on VOCM here.