Vacationer spots attempt to win again Canadian vacationers

The adage “time heals all wounds” is just not holding true for Canadian vacationers and their need to trip in America.

Visits to the United States from Canada are down 25.2%, 12 months up to now, with a 37% year-over-year drop in arrivals by automobile in July alone, in response to Tourism Economics.

“Canadians were already concerned over their personal finances, but they’ve taken the rhetoric and policy announcements from the U.S. administration very personally,” mentioned Amir Eylon, president and CEO of market analysis agency Longwoods International, which has been regularly surveying Canadian shoppers.

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

A whopping 80% of Canadian vacationers whose journey choices are being influenced by U.S. coverage and politics say U.S. tariffs and financial coverage are the most important destructive affect. Seventy-one p.c say political statements by U.S. leaders are a key destructive issue, up from 64% in April, in response to Longwoods International’s mid-July survey.

Instead of visiting the United States, the place AAA says Labor Day weekend vacationers will probably be having fun with lower year-over-year prices for the whole lot from gasoline, lodges and flights to automobile rental prices, disgruntled Canadians are planning to journey inside their very own nation or e-book flights to different nations.

“They’re choosing destinations such as Mexico, the Caribbean and Western Europe,” Eylon mentioned.

It isn’t just Canadians who’re staying away.

Geopolitical and policy-related issues have additionally led to a lower in guests from Western Europe and Asia, consultants say. Overseas arrivals to the U.S. dropped three months in a row, together with a 3.1% drop in July, bringing the year-to-date decline to 1.6%, according to Tourism Economics.

Overall, the “sentiment drag has proven severe,” the group mentioned in a knowledge replace launched final week. In December, it had forecast an approximate 9% improve in general worldwide arrivals to the United States for 2025. It now expects an 8.2% decline.

Overseas customer numbers all through the United States could dip even additional as a result of $250 visa integrity fee set to enter impact on Oct. 1. The new cost could be layered on high of different visa charges and apply to most anybody making use of for a nonimmigrant visa for journey to the United States, together with guests from China, Mexico and Brazil. 

The U.S. Travel Association calls it “a misguided junk fee” that can hike the upfront prices of visiting the U.S. by 130% simply because the cities throughout the nation already reeling from the lack of worldwide guests are making ready for main world occasions such because the 2026 FIFA World Cup, America’s 250th birthday and the 2028 Summer Olympics.

The payment, a part of Trump’s signature tax and spending regulation, requires coordination throughout businesses earlier than it is applied, mentioned a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, who defended the measure. “President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill provides the necessary policies and resources to restore to our nation’s immigration system.”

Autumn of discontent

Destinations across the United States are bracing for further travel dips in the fall and are adjusting expectations and carefully crafting or holding off on new campaigns.

“Our international visitors were forecasted to grow by 15% in 2025 but are now forecast to drop by 10%,” mentioned Dave O’Donnell, vp of strategic communications for Meet Boston, the group that markets and promotes tourism in higher Boston.

In response, the group is planning winter campaigns and media missions to Mexico, the United Kingdom and, most notably, Canada. The group plans to host an event in Toronto in September, O’Donnell said.

In Rochester, New York, 90 minutes from the Canadian-U.S. border, 12% to 15% of visitors have traditionally come from Canada.

Summer numbers aren’t in yet, but “we know some Canadians are choosing to stay home or travel to alternative destinations beyond the U.S.,” said Rachel Laber Pulvino, vice president of communications for Monroe County’s tourism agency, Visit Rochester.

Rochester’s tourist attractions include the George Eastman Museum, the Strong National Museum of Play and the National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House. The city’s summer and fall tourism promotion plans have shifted from traditional tourism marketing messages to a “softer” approach, Laber Pulvino said, including a “Dear Canada” campaign launched earlier this summer. 

“It is essentially a love letter to our neighbors to the north. Our message is simple: When you’re ready, we will be here,” she said.

Canadians made 20.4 million visits to the United States in 2024. This year, the steep pullback of Canadian visitors is expected to most negatively affect northern cities such as Seattle; Portland, Oregon; and Detroit. In those cities, overall international visitors are expected to decline this year by about 27%, 18% and 17%, respectively, according to Tourism Economics.

“We typically like to be at the top of lists, but not this one,” Michael Woody, chief strategy officer for Visit Seattle, said.

Woody said the projected dip is “certainly concerning” for Seattle. But, he added, Seattle is having a great summer thanks to an uptick in domestic visitors, summer concerts by Lady Gaga and several other headliners, and a cruise season that the Port of Seattle estimates is bringing about 1.9 million passengers to the city.

“We’re looking forward to when Canadian visitor numbers bound back, but that’s driven by so many factors that we don’t have any control over,” he said.

In Portland, tourism has remained flat compared with last summer, largely due to a decline in Canadian visitors, said Jackie Hagan, director of communications for Travel Portland. But, heading into fall, Hagan said the tourism agency is taking a wait-and-see approach to reaching out to Canadian visitors.

“It’s important for us to acknowledge and respect their current decisions not to travel to the U.S., while also expressing that we look forward to their return when the time feels right,” she said.

How’s it going in Florida?

Not all states and cities are wringing hands over international visitor statistics.

Recently released data from Visit Florida Research estimates that 34.4 million visitors traveled to the Sunshine State in the second quarter of 2025, up 5% over the same period in 2024. That includes 640,000 Canadians — down 20% year over year — and 2.3 million overseas visitors, up 11.4% year over year.

In a statement celebrating the uptick in overall visits, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said, “People from all over the world come to the Free State of Florida to take advantage of our top-tier attractions, great weather, and our commitment to public safety.”

Greg Fisher, founder and CEO of Destin, Florida-based tour- and activity-booking site TripShock, is surprised that visitor numbers are up.

The tour operators his company works with report that business is either flat or down so far in 2025, he said. “Many of us in Florida are left wondering where these visitors are actually going and what they’re spending their money on,” he said.

Perhaps they are going to the Palm Beaches. There, international visitation for the first half of 2025 is up 2.56% year over year, according to Milton Segarra, CEO of tourism marketing organization Discover the Palm Beaches.

While Canadian visitors to the area dipped 4.4% year over year, international markets such as Brazil, the United Kingdom, Germany and Colombia saw growth, he said.

Segarra tied the elevated visitation to elements resembling new tourism choices “and, of course, the global spotlight as President Trump’s selected home base.” Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago house is in ritzy Palm Beach.