Canada Reacts to Drop in U.S. Tourists

A large percentage of U.S. travelers are steering away from driving into Canada.

The CBC reports a nearly 11 percent drop in American tourists driving to Canada in April, and a more than 8 percent drop in May. The shift has meant a financial hit for tourism and businesses. The report said Americans spent $15.3 billion while visiting Canada last year.

While there is no specific evidence as to why the numbers are down, speculation includes the 25% tariff increase on Canadian products shipped to the United States, imposed by President Donald Trump. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney responded with a 25% tariff on U.S. auto imports. Trump also made several comments about how Canada should become a U.S. state.

It got worse as the Canadian government paid for a billboard campaign in select U.S. markets that proclaimed, “Tariffs are a tax on your grocery bill.”

But now, as tariff tensions have eased, some Canadian tourist associations are beckoning Americans to visit the provinces. And spend money.

The New York Post reported a new billboard campaign spotted in Detroit and Cleveland draws attention to the rate of financial exchange between the two nations and the benefit of spending American dollars in Canada. The campaign from Destination Ontario displays: “$1 USD = $1.43 CAD Spend less, do more.”

A video ad from another Canadian tourist group that is playing primarily in New England and New York state depicts an American at a hotel lobby desk sheepishly admitting he’s from America, and gets a welcoming hug from the desk worker. Text superimposed over the image reads, ”Come Hug It Out.”

A lodge owner told the CBC that every American dollar counts. "We don't want to lose that pipeline of American visitors," she lamented. "They would have come back as repeat guests. So it's not just this year that we would lose out on those visitors, it's the future years."

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