US Tourism Groups Struggle to Win Back Canadian Visitors
LAS VEGAS — Appeals from American tourism organizations seemed to be everywhere Josh Loewen looked over the past year. Billboards and banners proclaimed a state or city’s love for Canada. Online and social media ads offered special deals for travelers from north of the border. As a Vancouver resident and marketing executive himself, Loewen said he understands the conciliatory overtures. But the number of Canadians traveling to the United States plunged after President Donald Trump returned to office with remarks about making Canada the 51st state, and an acrimonious trade war between the two countries now threatens to reinforce the informal boycott just as it appeared to be easing slightly.
“It’s such a big ask right now,” Loewen, 45, said of the U.S. tourism industry’s attempts to woo Canadians like him back before a new president occupies the White House. “It’s just a wasted effort.”
A Historic Decline in Cross-Border Travel
The scale of the Canadian pullback is unprecedented in recent memory. According to Statistics Canada, Canadian residents made 25% fewer return border crossings in 2025 compared to 2024 and spent approximately $2.4 billion (CA$3.3 billion) less on travel to the United States. The 11-month streak of year-over-year declines was the deepest and most sustained on record since 1972, when digital recordkeeping began, excluding the COVID-19 pandemic period. Only the September 2001 terrorist attacks produced comparable declines.
Canada has traditionally been the largest source of international visitors to the United States. In 2024, Canadian-resident return border crossings from the U.S. totaled 39 million, representing three-quarters of all Canadian-resident return border crossings from abroad. In 2025, Canadian visits to the U.S. fell by 7.1 million — a 23.5% drop — while spending during U.S. visits fell by CA$3.3 billion to CA$18.8 billion. Canadians shifted their travel to domestic destinations and overseas markets, particularly Europe and Asia.
Statistics Canada analysts described the pullback as signaling “a persistent shift away from the United States by Canadian residents in their travel preferences.” The decline has persisted into 2026, with return border crossings remaining at levels similar to late 2025.
Tourism Industry Launches Outreach Campaigns
Despite the headwinds, U.S. tourism organizations have launched extensive efforts to win back Canadian visitors. New York state created a “NY Loves Canada” promotion this summer with discounts at hotels, restaurants and attractions. Some downtown Las Vegas hotels are treating the Canadian dollar as equivalent to the U.S. dollar. Las Vegas tourism officials traveled to Canada in August to meet with travel advisers, tour operators and airline representatives.
“We’re here to make sure you know that we care about Canada,” Steve Hill, president of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said while in Vancouver.
The outreach extends to the national level. Brand USA, the U.S. tourism industry’s marketing organization, is bringing its Travel Week trade-event series to Canada for the first time in October, with events scheduled in Toronto and Montreal from October 26-29. Graceland is offering Canadian residents 25% off tours, and Vermont launched a “100% Love for Canada” campaign.
The state-level impact has been significant. Florida saw a 7% decline in Canadian visitors in 2025, while Visit California estimated Canadian visitation fell 20%. Canadian visitor spending in New York State dropped 28% in 2025, a loss of approximately $480 million.
World Cup Boost Proves Short-Lived
The 2026 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico, provided a temporary lift. Border crossings picked up slightly in May, June and July, coinciding with the tournament. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney attended the final match in New Jersey alongside Trump. However, air travel to the U.S. still fell from year-earlier levels in every month through June, and the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office estimates Canadians made even fewer overnight visits during the first half of 2026 than in the same period last year.
“You went from this really high, exciting moment for the U.S. in terms of international attention, to the next week, it’s negative again,” said Deborah Friedland, a hospitality consultant at financial services firm Eisner Advisory Group. “It’s one step forward and two steps back.”
Escalating Tensions Undermine Recovery Efforts
Relations between the two governments deteriorated sharply after trade negotiations collapsed in August. Trump imposed import taxes of up to 50% on approximately $20-27.6 billion worth of Canadian products. Canada responded with dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs on $27.6 billion of U.S. imports, affecting 700 products, effective September 8. Trump also signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario to “Lake America” for U.S. federal usage, a move that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney dismissed as undignified and that Ontario Premier Doug Ford answered with a billboard reading “Lake Ontario — Now and Always.”
A day after the World Cup ended, Trump announced that tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods would take effect in 30 days, undercutting the brief positive momentum from the tournament.
Snowbirds: The Winter Test
As summer winds down, U.S. destinations most dependent on Canadian visitors are heading into their most important season. Large numbers of Canadian “snowbirds” typically flock to warm-weather locations in Florida, Arizona and California when temperatures drop, making the coming months a test of whether the grassroots boycott will extend into another winter.
“I’d be surprised if we’re talking a year from now and all of a sudden you see this huge uptick in Canadian travel over the winter months,” Friedland said.
Not all tourism officials are worried. Jennifer Adams, tourism director for the Destin-Fort Walton Beach area in Florida’s Panhandle, said she never panicked when headlines about Canadians shunning U.S. travel first appeared last year. “I felt our message was strong,” she said, adding that “the thing for us is to let the Canadian family know that they are welcomed here and we are committed to giving them a great experience when they get here.”
For Some Canadians, a Promise Isn’t Enough
Loewen, the Vancouver marketing executive, said his family loved visiting the United States — often traveling to San Diego, Portland and Seattle. This year, they chose Mexico instead. The reluctance, he said, has little to do with whether the U.S. can offer a good vacation. “It’s about whether Canadians want to spend their money there while tensions between their country and the U.S. remain so high.” His family hasn’t stepped foot in the U.S. since Trump’s inauguration and doesn’t plan to until there’s a new president.
Eileen March, a life coach from Calgary, made a similar decision. Trump’s threats to make Canada the 51st state and his trade policies were part of it, as was a broader sense of no longer feeling safe or welcome in the United States. “As time has worn on, I was beginning to waver,” she said. “The latest round of tariffs reinforced my initial decision to not travel in the U.S. at all while he is in office.” She refuses even to book flights with layovers in the U.S.
March, 41, knows that staying away for four years is a long time. She is prepared to go even longer. “I think that’ll really depend on who is elected next, their values and the relationship they attempt to foster or repair with Canada,” she said.
What to Watch
The coming winter will provide a key barometer of Canadian sentiment. Whether snowbirds return to Florida, Arizona and California will signal whether the boycott is a temporary political reaction or a lasting shift in travel preferences. The U.S. midterm elections in November and the next presidential inauguration in January 2027 may also influence when — or whether — Canadians reconsider traveling south. As Miami Today editorialized this week, “There is no long-run upside to costing our nation trade and tourism. There is no long-run upside to weakening long-term North American alliances. And there is definitely no long-term upside to eroding our nation’s respect and trust with Canada.”