By Melissa Renwick, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, HA-SHILTH-SA

On a community bulletin board outside of the Tofino Co-op Food Store, Shed restaurant advertised a $500 signing bonus for line-cooks and dishwashers.

Live to Surf, TOFINO Kombucha and Wolf in the Fog also had job postings on display.

Meanwhile, the Dockside Smoked Fish Store has closed for two days a week.

鈥淪taffing is the main issue,鈥� said owner and Ahousaht Tyee Ha鈥檞ilth Maquinna Lewis George. 鈥淚t鈥檚 super busy. We shouldn鈥檛 be closed, but we鈥檙e having to close.鈥�

Without enough staff to keep the business running full-time, George said the decision was made for him.

It鈥檚 a problem nearly every business in Tofino has been grappling with this summer, said Tofino Long Beach Chamber of Commerce President Laura McDonald.

鈥淏usinesses are being impacted by labour shortages to a significant extent,鈥� she said. 鈥淢any can鈥檛 be open at full capacity during the busy season, when they rely on making enough to carry them through the rest of the year.鈥�

Tofino鈥檚 transient population and the town鈥檚 housing crisis are contributing factors that have carried over from previous years, said Tourism Tofino Chair Samantha Hackett.

COVID-19 compounded those issues by presenting new layers of challenges. When businesses were forced to close in March 2020 to combat the virus, many people who relied on tourism to support their families had to look for opportunities outside the sector, said Hackett.

鈥淭he whole industry, not just in Tofino, has seen that shift of losing some of those long-term workers,鈥� she said.

George said a recent hire quit because she couldn鈥檛 handle the workload. Another resigned because she didn鈥檛 feel comfortable engaging with so many tourists daily after being exposed to COVID-19.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been really, really hard,鈥� he said.

Due to travel restrictions, the town has also seen a loss of its international workforce.

鈥淭ofino is in a remote location and we absolutely rely on working holiday visa type employees,鈥� said Hackett. 鈥淥bviously, that鈥檚 pretty much non-existent at this point. It鈥檚 going to take some time. We have to rebuild our workforce over these next few years.鈥�

Partnering with colleges and universities is one of the ways the town plans to do that, said Hackett.

According to preliminary data from STR, Tofino鈥檚 hotel occupancy in July was 92.6 per cent, as compared to 75 per cent in 2020 and 94.5 per cent in 2019.

鈥淲e鈥檝e seen very, very busy years before,鈥� said George. 鈥淭ofino has always been busy.鈥�

Yet, the combination of high occupancy rates and staffing shortages have made it difficult for businesses to meet tourism demands, said McDonald.

To address the issue of staffing shortages, the chamber said it鈥檚 working with other resort jurisdictions and the BC Chamber of Commerce.

鈥淭he aim is to come up with some short and long-term solutions from a provincial and federal perspective,鈥� McDonald said. 鈥淭he impact of this issue is being felt everywhere right now. It is not a problem that is unique to the west coast, unfortunately.鈥�

As the summer season wraps up, McDonald said the chamber will begin to have conversations with businesses to identify short-term solutions that can be implemented locally.

While George continues to cope with a staffing shortage and operational changes resulting from COVID-19, he is trying to stay positive.

鈥淚鈥檝e always been told that if you see a negative, try to turn into a positive,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the way I want to live.鈥�

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