Canadian Boycott Of U.S. Travel Is Going Stronger Than Ever, New Data Says
Canadians boycotting travel to the U.S. intensified in May—cementing a massive economic loss for American tourism this year as visitors from all over the globe rethink travel to the States.
Significantly fewer Canadians traveled to the US in May, setting up a big economic loss for American ... More tourism in 2025.
The number of Canadians taking road trips into the U.S.—representing the majority of Canadians who visit—dropped by 38% last month compared to May 2024, according to new data from Statistics Canada.
There was also a 24% decline in air travelers from Canada year-over-year.May was the fifth consecutive month of ever-steeper declines in inbound Canadian travel, following double-digit year-over-year drops in car travel and air travel to the U.S. in April and March.
Even a 10% drop in Canadian inbound tourism could see $2.1 billion in lost spending and 140,000 jobs jeopardized in the hospitality and related sectors, the U.S. Travel Association (USTA) warned in February—the new data suggests the losses could be triple or quadruple that forecast.
Fewer Americans traveled to Canada in May, with car travel down 8% and air travel down 0.3%, per Statistics Canada data.
In recent years, Canadian tourists have made up roughly one-quarter of all foreign travelers who come to the United States, according to the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO). Last year, Canadian tourists vacationing in the U.S. spent $20.5 billion. To put that number into context, it is nearly double the $10.4 billion Americans spent at McDonald's during all of 2024.
Canada's leadership warned residents against traveling to the U.S. in early February, after President Donald Trump began talking about tariffs and started referring to Canada as 'the 51st state.' Then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Canadians not to vacation south of the border, and repeated that call to action through April, when he left office. Three-quarters (75%) of Canadians who had been planning a trip to the U.S. say the tariff announcements have influenced their plans, and over half (56%) who had planned to visit the U.S. have decided to travel elsewhere, according to a survey by Leger Marketing of over 1,500 Canadian adults fielded mid-May.
No. Over half of Canadians (55%) plan to take a leisure trip this summer, up from 47% who planned a summer trip in 2024, according to the Leger Marketing poll. Only 10% of Canadians plan to travel to the U.S. this summer compared to 23% last year. In contrast, Canadians' domestic travel intentions are soaring, with 77% planning to stay within Canada (up from 69% in 2024). Compared to before President Trump's tariffs were introduced, more Canadians are likely to travel within their home province (48% vs. 38% pre-tariffs) or to another Canadian province (42%, up from 30%).
The U.S. is looking at a significant 9% drop in U.S. international arrivals for 2025, and a drop of $8.5 billion (-4.7%) in international visitor spending relative to last year, according to the latest forecast from Tourism Economics, a nonpartisan Oxford Economics company tracking tourism statistics. But the true damage is actually twice as 'catastrophic,' Adam Sacks, president of Tourism Economics, told Forbes. 'Given trends in our pre-Inauguration forecast, we were expecting a 9% increase in international visitors this year,' Sacks said. 'So the full way to appreciate the loss is relative to the growth that would have happened based on the ongoing recovery that was expected, because we're still well below 2019 levels.' Considering 2025 was forecast to be a big growth year for international inbound visitors, the true loss for the U.S. is far bigger. The World Travel & Tourism Council predicts an even bigger decline in tourism revenue for the U.S., forecasting a loss of $12.5 billion in international visitor spending in 2025.
$1.8 billion. That's how much in export revenue is lost for every 1% drop in international visitor spending, according to the USTA. If the downward trajectory continues through the end of the year, the country stands to lose at least $21 billion in travel-related exports.
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation led by Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) has proposed slashing the budget of Brand USA, the country's public-private destination marketing organization, from $100 million to $20 million. The USTA said it is 'deeply concerned' about the proposal, saying such drastic cuts would 'significantly impact every sector of our industry.'
U.S. Now 'Flyover' Country For Canadians—Who Are Traveling To Mexico, Caribbean Instead (Forbes)
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