A new report from the Ontario Chamber of Commerce says the province's tourism industry is not expected to fully recover from the pandemic until 2025.
The joint report with the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario contains a host of recommendations, from tax incentives to cannabis tourism to affordable housing in order to support staff recruitment.
The report says tourism businesses in the province are generating 64 per cent of the revenues they saw in 2019, on average.
It also says seven in 10 have taken on debt to stay afloat.
The report recommends both short-term solutions and long-term strategies.
It says the Ontario government could make its staycation tax credit permanent and allow cannabis special event permits, and the federal government could increase maximum COVID business loan forgiveness amounts.
The report also highlights labour challenges, with an 81 per cent increase in tourism and hospitality job postings compared to 2019, the report said.