Metro Vancouverites Ponder Bailouts for Tourism Sector

More than three-in-five agree with restaurants, cafés and bars being eligible for government-funded assistance.  

Vancouver, BC [May 1, 2020] – Residents of Metro Vancouver hold differing views on which businesses and corporations that are tied to the tourism industry should be buttressed with taxpayer money as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new Research Co. poll has found.  

In the online survey of a representative sample, 78% of Metro Vancouverites believe that restaurants, cafés and bars that employ fewer than 10 people should be eligible for a government bailout.  

More than half of Metro Vancouverites would also consent to offer financial assistance to restaurants, cafés and bars that employ more than 10 people (76%), individual boutiques and stores (71%) and retail outlets that are part of a chain with five or more stores in the country (51%).  

“Metro Vancouverites appear particularly concerned with the pandemic leading to job losses in the restaurant sector,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “Only 16% of residents believe small eateries should not receive financial assistance, and just 18% feel the same way about venues that employ more than 10 people.”  

At least two-in-five Metro Vancouverites believe taxi companies (47%), airlines (45%) and cruise ship operators (40%) should be eligible for a government-funded bailout.  

Residents of Vancouver and Surrey are more likely to favour government-funded assistance for airlines (47% and 46% respectively) than those who live in Burnaby (37%).  

Just over a third of Metro Vancouverites would consider a bailout for ride-hailing companies (35%), and just 27% would include Airbnb hosts on the same list.  

More than half of residents of Vancouver and Surrey (51%) are against ride-hailing companies being eligible for a government bailout, along with 46% of those in Burnaby and 58% of those who reside in other Metro Vancouver municipalities.  

Across Metro Vancouver, men are more likely than women to reject the notion of government assistance for Airbnb hosts (68% to 59%).  

While 53% of Metro Vancouverites aged 18-to-34 are opposed to bailing out Airbnb hosts, the proportion climbs to 69% among those aged 55 and over and 74% among those aged 35-to-54.

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