Locals leaping at chance to travel outside of Manitoba

Organizations helping Manitobans travel outside of the province are experiencing a boom that they predict will only get bigger.

In recent weeks, Andrew Toews, president and owner of Photo Central in Winnipeg, has seen a spike in people needing passport photos.

"I think it is just going to be ramping up from here," he says with his office phone consistently behind him. "People notoriously leave passport photos to the last minute. I think we are just seeing some of the people jumping on early but for the most part, I think people are going to start to realize their passport's out of date."

He says one year ago in October they were busier than they have ever been, but this year has now more than doubled that demand. He says they are currently averaging anywhere from 10 to 20 people coming in each day. Toews says they have been seeing many families come in, getting photos in preparation for visiting their home countries or new locations.

"I think a lot of people want to take kids home to see grandparents."

CAA's customer service regional manager, Susan Postma, has seen some increase in recent months, but not anywhere near their usual pre-pandemic volumes.

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"We are certainly seeing an uptick of people booking travel," Postma says. "We certainly are not back to those pre-pandemic levels but we definitely have seen an interest in bookings. We are seeing people come in. Domestic has been very strong and has been over the course of the summer and we continue to see that as we head into late fall and into next year."

Many are turning to travel agents for travel advice as they book vacations as far into the future as 2023. CAA has seen travel requests return to 60-70 per cent of its pre-pandemic levels.

"Travel booking is not certainly as easy as it once was so there is a lot more information to know and it takes a lot more research."

The manager says Monday's land border reopening has added to the increased interest, as well as snowbirds heading south and families wanting to reconnect.

"People are being measured and cautious and informed. We certainly see that growth towards but we really think there is some time ahead as people really determining and when they want to travel."

Canada-wide there has been a slight increase in demand for passport applications recement, but nowhere near where they were in previous years.

"Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Passport Program issued on average 5,000,000 travel documents (from 2013-14 FY to 2017-18 FY, per the Passport Program Annual report)," an Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada spokesperson says in a statement. "Presently, we have seen a gradual resumption towards pre-COVID-19 passport application volumes. From January – September 2020 there were 763, 257 Passports issued and from January 2021 – September 2021, there were 827, 678"

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has not calculated October's passport applications yet, the time period where Toews has noticed the boost in photo requests.