Latest news with #CanadianVisitors
CBS News
11 hours ago
- Business
- CBS News
Florida tourism numbers up despite drop in Canadian visitors
Domestic travelers continue to bolster Florida's tourism industry, while the state hopes to make up for a decline in Canadian visitors by drawing people from other countries. Visit Florida on Tuesday estimated 34.435 million people traveled to Florida from April 1 through June 30, up from 34.279 million people during the same period last year. The estimate for this year would be a second-quarter record, according to the state tourism-marketing agency. U.S. travelers made up 31.499 million of this year's total, or 91.5 percent, up slightly from 31.419 million during the second quarter of 2024. Visit Florida estimated 2.295 million overseas travelers during the quarter this year, an 11.4 percent jump from the same period in 2024. But the estimated 640,000 Canadian visitors to Florida during the quarter marked a 20 percent drop from 2024. "I know the nation is seeing some Canadian visitors not traveling at the moment, but Florida actually is seeing an increase in visitors from other places, including Brazil, which I think it's part of that overseas visitation increase, and it's something that we're really monitoring and looking to see if we can shift some efforts there to continue that good trend," Visit Florida President and CEO Bryan Griffin told members of the agency's Executive Committee on Monday. Florida has struggled since the COVID-19 pandemic to rebuild its numbers of overseas and Canadian travelers. Overseas travelers made up 6.7 percent of the estimated visitors during this year's second quarter, while Canadians made up about 1.9 percent. In 2019, before the pandemic, overseas travelers accounted for 7.4 percent of Florida visitor totals and Canadians were at 3.11 percent. Tourism from Canada is down this year amid controversies about issues such as the U.S. imposing tariffs and President Donald Trump floating the idea of annexing Canada. Statistic Canada, Canada's national statistical agency, on Aug 11 reported that preliminary numbers of international arrivals to Canada in July including Canadian residents and non-residents were down 15.6 percent from July 2024 and marked six consecutive months of year-over-year declines. Canadians returning by car from the United States in July were down 36.9 percent from the same period in 2024 and numbers of people returning by air were off 25.8 percent, according to Statistic Canada. Florida drew an estimated overall total of 75.394 million tourists during the first half of this year, or 0.1 percent lower than during the first half of 2024. The decrease came after Visit Florida revised first-quarter numbers. An initial estimate released in May said 41.193 million people visited Florida during the first quarter, which would have been even with the first quarter of 2024. The revised 2025 first-quarter count was 40.959 million. The state's 2025-2026 budget, which took effect July 1, included $80 million for Visit Florida, the same as in the previous fiscal year.
CBC
07-08-2025
- Business
- CBC
Where Canadians are travelling instead of the U.S.
New data suggests Canadians are packing their bags for destinations other than the U.S., with Buenos Aires, Osaka, Japan, and Copenhagen all seeing 100 per cent increase in spending by Canadian visitors.
New York Times
15-06-2025
- Business
- New York Times
This Vermont Town Loves Its Canadian Neighbors. Trump Made Things Complicated.
On the front porch of her tidy yellow house on Canusa Street — so named because it runs along the border with Canada in tiny Beebe Plain, Vt. — Jan Beadle recently removed the American flag and hung a Canadian one in its place. Ms. Beadle, who has lived along the border for 71 years, hoped that the red maple leaf rippling in the breeze would send a message to her neighbors in the country across the way: I stand with you. And I'm sorry. 'I do feel like it reflects on me, somehow,' she said of President Trump's frequent jabs at Canada, including his imposition of steep new tariffs and his talk of making it the 51st state. 'As a kid, my family went to church in Canada. I went to the movie theater there, and to a youth club. We were just a group of kids together. We weren't labeled as Canadian or American.' The economic impact of Mr. Trump's trade war with Canada is already palpable on both sides of the border. Economic data shows a steep drop-off in spending by Canadians at Vermont hotels and restaurants; normally, 750,000 Canadian visitors spend $150 million in the state each year. Governors of New England states plan to meet on Monday in Boston with leaders from five Canadian provinces to strategize about the strain in their trade relations. But in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, where many towns and villages sit close by the border, residents also fear the loss of a kinship that has run deep for as long as they can remember. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
CTV News
28-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Maine installs ‘Welcome Canadians' signs as trade war threatens summer tourism
The first "Bienvenue Canadiens!' sign was installed last week in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. Maine Gov. Janet Mills said more signs would be installed at border crossings and locations popular with visitors, with other versions of welcome signs to be available for businesses. (Nick Moore/CTV Atlantic) Maine is placing new highway signs across the state to welcome Canadian visitors, as the U.S. trade war threatens to disrupt the upcoming summer tourism season. The first 'Bienvenue Canadiens!' sign was installed last week in Old Orchard Beach, which is a vacation hot spot for Quebec tourists. During a typical summer, up to 40 per cent of Old Orchard Beach visitors come from Canada. Maine Gov. Janet Mills said more signs would be installed at border crossings and locations popular with visitors, with other versions of welcome signs to be available for businesses. 'Look, I know that a sign alone cannot fix this economic uncertainty, but it can convey to our neighbours that they are welcome here, and that we do value their presence in our state,' said Mills in a weekly radio address. 'We do not feel hostility towards our Canadian friends and neighbours.' Governors and premiers to meet in Boston Mills said nearly 800,000 people from Canada visited Maine in 2024, representing about five per cent of the state's total number of visitors last year. 'But this year, just from February to April alone, 166,000 fewer Canadians travelled by land to Maine,' said Mills. 'That's 26 per cent less than the same period last year. That's a big drop in visitors. So, my administration is doing what we can to market Maine as a destination for Canadian travellers.' Mills said New England state governors are scheduled to meet with the premiers of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, and Ontario for a summit in Boston on June 16. 'At that meeting, I plan to discuss our partnerships with Canadians and our work to ensure that our historic friendship and our deeply intertwined economies will endure for generations to come,' said Mills.
