The Wickaninnish Inn, the landmark resort on Chesterman Beach near Tofino, is closing for two weeks following a provincial health recommendation that British Columbians stay closer to home.
Charles McDiarmid, managing director for the inn, said Friday the resort is calling guests with reservations for re-bookings starting on Dec. 8. The last of the current guests at the 75-room resort will have checked out by Tuesday.
The Wickaninnish will close its hotel, bar and restaurant and spa by then, and McDiarmid said most of the 170 staff will be temporarily laid off, leaving some to maintain operations.
鈥淲e have to drive down transmission rates as a province and we want to be part of the solution,鈥� McDiarmid said. 鈥淪ome [other hotels] are following our direction. Some are probably not. Most are not taking any new reservations.鈥�
Meanwhile, Ucluelet鈥檚 Black Rock Resort shut its restaurant, lounge and spa on Wednesday night after learning a staff member had tested positive for COVID-19
鈥淚t was a bit of a shock to hear the news and we are gathering as much information on the timeline of events 鈥� we are speaking directly with Island Health to inquire about any additional recommended next steps,鈥� Black Rock鈥檚 assistant general manager said in a Facebook post.
J.J. Belanger, general manager of Crystal Cove Resort and RV Park in Tofino, said the resort is also winding down operations over the next two weeks.
He said there are a few snowbirds with long-term RV sites and some cabin guests are in the middle of long-term stays, but no new bookings are being taken until after Dec. 7.
Ocean Village Resort is doing the same.
鈥淓veryone is probably taking the same approach here,鈥� Belanger said. 鈥淗opefully we can come back in early December for a robust season.鈥�
Tofino and Ucluelet would normally be receiving guests for the storm-watching season, but were singled out by the premier and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry this week as examples of where people of the province should not go as British Columbia grapples with increasing cases of COVID-19.
Nancy Cameron, executive director of Tourism Tofino, said cancellations are pouring in since Premier John Horgan asked people to stay home unless their travel is essential.
鈥淧eople are responding to the travel order,鈥� Cameron said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 difficult, but we all recognize restrictions around travel is the right thing to do.鈥�
Ucluelet Mayor Mayco Noel said 鈥渢here are a lot of empty parking lots at hotels in both communities. People aren鈥檛 coming. They鈥檙e getting the message.鈥�
Noel said the premier and provincial health officer 鈥減ut a big red dot on us.鈥�
He said Ucluelet, which has about 200 short-term rentals and a population of 1,800, will have a tough time, but it has weathered challenging times before.
鈥淎 little community like ours has to look after each other and be respectful, and we鈥檒l get through this.鈥�
Tofino, with a resident population of about 2,000, attracted about 4,000 visitors a day in November 2018, the latest data available from Tourism Tofino. The hotel occupancy during that time was 65.6 per cent.
Those numbers will drop drastically, Cameron said.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have an estimate of what [the decrease] will be. Cancellations are happening,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very difficult for tourism businesses, but it鈥檚 something I think people understand is necessary.
鈥淲e鈥檙e all hoping that everyone can do a great job now [in containing COVID], and we can see a number of changes, so Christmas can be better.鈥�
