New federal funds to help businesses ravaged by COVID-19 are not enough to save the region's beleaguered tourism operators, according to the executive director of Ontario's Sunset Country Travel Association.

The government announced $7.5 million Thursday for FedNor's Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF), which offers loans of up to $250,000 to cover up to six months of business expenses in an effort to keep those businesses solvent. Recipients of contributions up to $40,000 who repay 75 per cent of their contributions before  Dec. 31, 2022 will be granted a 25 per cent forgiveness up to a maximum of $10,000, according to FedNor's web site.

But Gerry Cariou called the $7.4 million "peanuts" and said the structure of the program doesn't do enough for tourism operators in the region who rely on American tourists for their revenues.

"It's nonetheless a loan to a business that in 2020 had five to 10 percent — some had zero percent of their booked revenues for the season. So you get into your basic business sort of question of, 'Is it wise to increase your debt as a business when you have no revenues and you have no guarantee of revenues?'"

The president of Canoe Canada Outfitters said any new money to help businesses get through the pandemic was welcome — but agreed with Cariou that operators in his industry would be intimidated by the thought of taking on more debt.

"We don't really know when we're going to be getting revenue again to be able to pay that back," said Jeremy Dickson, who had avoided seeking government assistance until now but is planning to apply shortly.

"I was in debt most of my adult life, and I'm not a big fan of going into debt when I don't have to."

What's really needed, Cariou said, is either a safe strategy to reopen the border that Canadians feel confident in — perhaps involving rapid COVID-19 testing — or sizeable grants to keep businesses afloat while it's closed.

"If you're going to kill people's business, you're going to need to compensate them," he said. 

Operators have tried attracting Canadian customers to make up for the shortfall in American tourism revenues but it's failed to make a significant dent in the losses, Cariou said. 

There might be a million or so Canadians within a 12-hour radius of the Sunset Country travel region, he added. South of the border, there are several million more Americans.

If the border opens in time for the 2021 tourism season, he said, the RRRF might succeed in bridging businesses until it does. But so far, there has been no indication from the government about when border controls might loosen.

Without robust support, the industry isn't going to make it, Cariou added.

"And think of the... indirect impacts," he said, "the lumberyards, these guys build cabins, these people build docks, the huge aircraft expenses. This isn't a minor thing anymore. This is a calamity."

To see related outdoors stories, follow this link to the CBC Thunder Bay website.  https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/now-tourism-fednor-funds-1.5800075