Will Toronto’s hotel industry ever bounce back to its pre-pandemic peak?

Guest: Tess Kalinowski, real estate reporter for the Star

Toronto’s hotel industry has been one of the hardest hit in the COVID-19 pandemic. With the start of the first lockdown, hotel rooms emptied as dozens of hotels were closed completely. Thousands of workers were badly impacted by the loss of jobs and working hours. Many just never came back.

As more people are vaccinated and travel restrictions get lifted, hotels are slowly coming back to life. But experts say there’s still a long, difficult road to recovery for a city that was at its peak of marketing itself as a global destination before the pandemic. On “This Matters” today, we take a look at what it will take for Toronto’s hotel and tourism industry to bounce back, nearly two years after the first lockdown all while reeling with financial losses and a severe staff shortage.