It’s the last day for the vaccine passport program in this province and the BC Restaurant and Food Services Association expects it to be good for business. BCRFA President Ian Tostenson says that given the high vaccination rates in the county, now is the right time to abolish the vaccination passport. “The passport was introduced, I think, initially to motivate people to get vaccinated; because when it was introduced, vaccination rates were much lower and we are now over 90% now number one,” Tostenson said. “Number two is that they did it, they kind of set up a safe place for people who were nervous, but because we’re so vaccinated now and we remember the restaurants even before the masks or the passports, we were doing well. “We were able to navigate due to the high standards of health and safety without these things.” The full proof of the vaccine went into effect last October, when the BCCDC reported that just over 80% of people aged 12 and over had been fully vaccinated. The provincial government allows restaurants to continue using the vaccine card as they see fit, but Tostenson expects most restaurants to let the card go. “I think most people are ready to get rid of it. “We saw when we got rid of the masks that our business was growing, because it was a sign that things were improving,” he said. “And I think the fact that the vaccination card, especially for the larger demographics, was quite controversial at times, using their phones and the technology around the vaccination card. So I think it’s going to be good for business. “I just do not know why companies would want to do that, unless they had a group of customers who felt very strongly about it.” The BCRFA has been debating whether the vaccine passport could be applied in the near future if the number of cases increases again. “I think restaurants definitely know what to do now. “Two and a half years ago it was the big unknown but the high standards of health and safety, keeping distance at the tables, all those things that the public expects,” Tostenson said. “We feel confident that we are not going to go back to where we were.” Tostenson also expects tourism in Okanagan to be “completely full” this year with the lifting of restrictions in the province.
