Long delays as Canada opens border to fully vaccinated American tourists after 16 months

Travellers line up to enter Canada after border restrictions were loosened to allow fully vaccinated U.S. residents, after the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic forced an unprecedented 16-month ban that many businesses complained was crippling them, at the Peace Arch border crossing in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada August 9, 2021. REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier

Long delays were reported at the Canadian-U.S. border on Monday as Ottawa finally opened doors to fully vaccinated American tourists for the first time in 16 months, causing a rush of tourists to travel north during the busy summer season.

Government data showed a seven-hour wait time for the Fort Frances, Ontario, and International Falls, Minnesota, crossing. Fort Frances advertises itself online as "rarely experiencing delays".

Several crossings in Ontario and New Brunswick - between the states of New York and Maine - had waits of three hours.

Travellers line up to enter Canada after border restrictions were loosened to allow fully vaccinated U.S. residents, after the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic forced an unprecedented 16-month ban that many businesses complained was crippling them, at the Peace Arch border crossing in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada August 9, 2021. REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier

Canada barred all leisure travel from the United States in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but as of August 9 fully vaccinated travelers are able to enter the country. International travelers who are fully vaccinated will be allowed to enter in early September.

Late on Friday, the Canadian government and border staff reached a tentative deal to end a strike action that began earlier in the day.

Prior to the pandemic, tourism was the fifth-largest industry in Canada, contributing C$105 billion ($83.4 billion) to the GDP and providing one in ten jobs, according to the Tourism Industry Association of Canada.

Travellers line up to enter Canada after border restrictions were loosened to allow fully vaccinated U.S. residents, after the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic forced an unprecedented 16-month ban that many businesses complained was crippling them, at the Peace Arch border crossing in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada August 9, 2021. REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier

Toronto's Pearson International Airport, Canada's biggest airport, has also asked travelers to brace for delays as American leisure travelers returns to Canada.

(Reporting by Moira Warburton in Vancouver; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

A Canada Border Services Agency Officer hands a traveller their documentation back as other travellers line up behind them to enter Canada after border restrictions were loosened to allow fully vaccinated U.S. residents, after the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic forced an unprecedented 16-month ban, at the Thousand Islands Bridge crossing in Lansdowne, Ontario, Canada, August 9, 2021. REUTERS/Alex Filipe

A man peers out over his car door at the line of travellers waiting to enter Canada after border restrictions were loosened to allow fully vaccinated U.S. residents, after the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic forced an unprecedented 16-month ban, at the Thousand Islands Bridge crossing in Lansdowne, Ontario, Canada August 9, 2021. REUTERS/Alex Filipe