Unless they get more help, 60% of the hardest hit tourism, hotel, hospitality, travel and events businesses in Canada will fail.

This startling statistic from the Coalition of Hardest Hit Businesses, an industry group formed in the wake of the pandemic to speak up for the tourism, hotel, hospitality, travel, arts and culture, events and festivals sectors.

It seems all hinges on extending the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) beyond the current deadline of June 5 to the end of the year.

If the subsidies stay in place, hospitality businesses have a chance to survive, if not, more than half may not survive until the end of 2021.

That's why the coalition is lobbying the federal government to confirm the subsidy extension in its budget next month.

"Our businesses were the first hit by the pandemic, the hardest hit by closures and will be the last to recover," said Tourism Industry Association of Canada president Beth Potter.

"With extended support, we can thrive and survive. Without it, Canada's tourism, culture and hospitality industries will be devastated for a generation."

The British Columbia Hotel Association quickly recirculated the coalition's news release Thursday to draw attention to the problem in hopes of garnering support from the wider community.

Ingrid Jarrett of Kelowna is president of the BC Hotel Association, which represents 600 hotels in the province with 80,000 rooms that usually employ 60,000.

With travel and social restrictions, occupancy has hovered around 20-25% during most of the pandemic.

In the past, Jarrett feared 30% of hotels wouldn't survive, a number that may be creeping more to the 60% stated in the news release.

The tourism, hospitality and events sectors are also banking on vaccine roll out and easing of travel and social restrictions so the industry can partially recover this summer and beyond.