'dear Canada': U.s. Tourist Spots Try To Win Back Neighbors From The North

The adage “time heals each wounds” is not holding existent for Canadian travelers and their desire to picnic successful America.

Visits to nan United States from Canada are down 25.2%, twelvemonth to date, pinch a 37% year-over-year driblet successful arrivals by car successful July alone, according to Tourism Economics.

“Canadians were already concerned complete their individual finances, but they’ve taken nan rhetoric and argumentation announcements from nan U.S. management very personally,” said Amir Eylon, president and CEO of marketplace investigation patient Longwoods International, which has been regularly surveying Canadian consumers.

“Unfortunately, things person gone from bad to worse,” he added.

A whopping 80% of Canadian travelers whose recreation decisions are being influenced by U.S. argumentation and authorities opportunity U.S. tariffs and economical argumentation are nan awesome antagonistic influence. Seventy-one percent opportunity governmental statements by U.S. leaders are a cardinal antagonistic factor, up from 64% successful April, according to Longwoods International’s mid-July survey.

Instead of visiting nan United States, wherever AAA says Labor Day play travelers will beryllium enjoying little year-over-year prices for everything from gas, hotels and flights to car rental costs, disgruntled Canadians are readying to recreation wrong their ain state aliases book flights to different nations.

“They’re choosing destinations specified arsenic Mexico, nan Caribbean and Western Europe,” Eylon said.

It is not conscionable Canadians who are staying away.

Geopolitical and policy-related concerns person besides led to a alteration successful visitors from Western Europe and Asia, experts say. Overseas arrivals to nan U.S. dropped 3 months successful a row, including a 3.1% driblet successful July, bringing nan year-to-date diminution to 1.6%, according to Tourism Economics.

Overall, nan “sentiment resistance has proven severe,” nan group said successful a information update released past week. In December, it had forecast an approximate 9% summation successful wide world arrivals to nan United States for 2025. It now expects an 8.2% decline.

Overseas visitant numbers passim nan United States whitethorn dip moreover further owed to nan $250 visa integrity fee group to spell into effect connected Oct. 1. The caller complaint would beryllium layered connected apical of different visa fees and use to astir anyone applying for a nonimmigrant visa for recreation to nan United States, including visitors from China, Mexico and Brazil. 

The U.S. Travel Association calls it “a misguided junk fee” that will hike nan upfront costs of visiting nan U.S. by 130% conscionable arsenic nan cities crossed nan state already reeling from nan nonaccomplishment of world visitors are preparing for awesome world events specified arsenic nan 2026 FIFA World Cup, America’s 250th day and nan 2028 Summer Olympics.

The fee, portion of Trump's signature taxation and spending law, requires coordination crossed agencies earlier it's implemented, said a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, who defended nan measure. “President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill provides nan basal policies and resources to reconstruct to our nation’s migration system."

Autumn of discontent

Destinations crossed nan United States are bracing for further recreation dips successful nan autumn and are adjusting expectations and cautiously crafting aliases holding disconnected connected caller campaigns.

“Our world visitors were forecasted to turn by 15% successful 2025 but are now forecast to driblet by 10%,” said Dave O’Donnell, vice president of strategical communications for Meet Boston, nan statement that markets and promotes tourism successful greater Boston.

In response, nan group is readying wintertime campaigns and media missions to Mexico, nan United Kingdom and, astir notably, Canada. The group plans to big an arena successful Toronto successful September, O’Donnell said.

In Rochester, New York, 90 minutes from nan Canadian-U.S. border, 12% to 15% of visitors person traditionally travel from Canada.

Summer numbers aren’t successful yet, but “we cognize immoderate Canadians are choosing to enactment location aliases recreation to replacement destinations beyond nan U.S.,” said Rachel Laber Pulvino, vice president of communications for Monroe County’s tourism agency, Visit Rochester.

Rochester’s tourer attractions see nan George Eastman Museum, nan Strong National Museum of Play and nan National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House. The city’s summertime and autumn tourism promotion plans person shifted from accepted tourism trading messages to a “softer” approach, Laber Pulvino said, including a “Dear Canada” run launched earlier this summer. 

“It is fundamentally a emotion missive to our neighbors to nan north. Our connection is simple: When you’re ready, we will beryllium here,” she said.

Canadians made 20.4 cardinal visits to nan United States successful 2024. This year, nan steep pullback of Canadian visitors is expected to astir negatively impact bluish cities specified arsenic Seattle; Portland, Oregon; and Detroit. In those cities, wide world visitors are expected to diminution this twelvemonth by astir 27%, 18% and 17%, respectively, according to Tourism Economics.

“We typically for illustration to beryllium astatine nan apical of lists, but not this one,” Michael Woody, main strategy serviceman for Visit Seattle, said.

Woody said nan projected dip is “certainly concerning” for Seattle. But, he added, Seattle is having a awesome summertime acknowledgment to an uptick successful home visitors, summertime concerts by Lady Gaga and respective different headliners, and a cruise season that nan Port of Seattle estimates is bringing astir 1.9 cardinal passengers to nan city.

“We’re looking guardant to erstwhile Canadian visitant numbers bound back, but that’s driven by truthful galore factors that we don’t person immoderate power over,” he said.

In Portland, tourism has remained level compared pinch past summer, mostly owed to a diminution successful Canadian visitors, said Jackie Hagan, head of communications for Travel Portland. But, heading into fall, Hagan said nan tourism agency is taking a wait-and-see attack to reaching retired to Canadian visitors.

“It’s important for america to admit and respect their existent decisions not to recreation to nan U.S., while besides expressing that we look guardant to their return erstwhile nan clip feels right,” she said.

How's it going successful Florida?

Not each states and cities are wringing hands complete world visitant statistics.

Recently released information from Visit Florida Research estimates that 34.4 cardinal visitors traveled to nan Sunshine State successful nan 2nd 4th of 2025, up 5% complete nan aforesaid play successful 2024. That includes 640,000 Canadians — down 20% twelvemonth complete twelvemonth — and 2.3 cardinal overseas visitors, up 11.4% twelvemonth complete year.

In a statement celebrating nan uptick successful wide visits, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said, “People from each complete nan world travel to nan Free State of Florida to return advantage of our top-tier attractions, awesome weather, and our committedness to nationalist safety.”

Greg Fisher, laminitis and CEO of Destin, Florida-based tour- and activity-booking site TripShock, is amazed that visitant numbers are up.

The circuit operators his institution useful pinch study that business is either level aliases down truthful acold successful 2025, he said. “Many of america successful Florida are near wondering wherever these visitors are really going and what they’re spending their money on,” he said.

Perhaps they are going to nan Palm Beaches. There, world visitation for nan first half of 2025 is up 2.56% twelvemonth complete year, according to Milton Segarra, CEO of tourism trading statement Discover nan Palm Beaches.

While Canadian visitors to nan area dipped 4.4% twelvemonth complete year, world markets specified arsenic Brazil, nan United Kingdom, Germany and Colombia saw growth, he said.

Segarra tied nan accrued visitation to factors specified arsenic caller tourism offerings “and, of course, nan world spotlight arsenic President Trump’s selected location base.” Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago location is successful ritzy Palm Beach.