Could the U.S.-Canada trade war help Toronto tourism? Some attractions are betting on it

Operators of tourer attractions are hoping for a engaged March Break successful Toronto now that immoderate Canadians are changing their question plans owed to U.S. tariff threats and the anemic loonie.

Various attractions successful the city, specified arsenic Ripley's Aquarium and the CN Tower, are stepping up offerings oregon promotions successful a bid to pull residents opting to question wrong Canada alternatively of crossing the border.

Some are besides wondering if the menace of on-again, off-again tariffs volition interaction the fig of U.S. visitors to Toronto.

Peter Doyle, wide manager of Ripley's Aquarium of Canada is 1 of them.

"America is simply a large portion of our market. It ever has been. So volition they beryllium coming? The spot of their dollar versus ours whitethorn beryllium a crushed to visit, but also, are they going to travel oregon enactment in the U.S. and sojourn determination and walk wealth there? It's specified an unknown. 

"COVID was strange. This is stranger." 

Doyle said the attraction has seen an influx of Quebec visitors this week, which is Quebec's March Break, and the numbers of visitors from that province is higher this twelvemonth than last year.

From Feb. 15 to March 7, the aquarium offered a 25 per cent discount for Ontario residents. The numbers surpassed expectations, with much than 12,000 tickets sold, it said.

During the upcoming March interruption rush, it's moving a "No Tariff Tuesday" discount, offering 25 per cent off to all walk-in visitors.

Could commercialized warfare person affirmative spin-off for section tourism?

Peter George, main operating serviceman of the CN Tower, said connected Friday the attraction whitethorn payment from people opting to question wrong Canada alternatively of crossing the border. 

The operation already has 2 cardinal visitors a year, helium said. The question is if radical choosing to cancel question plans volition mean adjacent much this year.

"I deliberation it's going to beryllium bully for our tourism manufacture arsenic we determination done this," George said. "We've ever been truly pro-Canada. We've ever focused a batch of our enactment connected Canada. We're conscionable hyper-focused now."

The CN Tower, which helium says tells the communicative of Canada, has images of maple leaves successful reddish airy connected its ray dome, which is the bubble astir its top, each night. George says it's being lit in red and white every hr and is promoting Canadian beer, vino and spirits connected its paper successful its restaurants.

The attraction besides plans to bent "rather large" Canadian flags to springiness photograph opportunities to visitors, George said. Its retail store arsenic good volition diagnostic much Canadian products arsenic well.

"It's truly important for america to proceed to enactment Canada. We ever have. We're conscionable doing much of it than we ever person before."

George added that U.S. visitors are ever invited astatine the CN Tower. He said helium believes galore Americans volition proceed to sojourn the attraction.

'Massive oversea change' successful tourism successful past 5 years

Andrew Weir, president of Destination Toronto, an enactment that promotes the city, said helium thinks tourism operators are taking a "measured" attack to the existent disruption successful the tourism industry.

Weir noted that determination was a "massive oversea change" successful tourism successful the past 5 years owed to the interaction of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, helium said visitors from China were a large portion of the Toronto market, but now, determination is anticipation that visitors from Mexico volition prime up the slack.

Currently, determination is overmuch speech astir potential, but the manufacture is monitoring the information intimately to discern trends, helium added. 

"It's hard to forecast beyond adjacent week, frankly, erstwhile the concern changes arsenic overmuch arsenic it does," Weir said.

"Everybody is waiting to spot what the inclination is. You tin spot much bookings oregon much cancellations implicit a play of a mates days but that's not needfully indicative of a larger trend."

Weir said Toronto saw 9 cardinal visitors past twelvemonth and 6.3 cardinal of them were Canadian, with the bulk from Ontario. The U.S., meanwhile, accounted for 1.6 cardinal of the 9 cardinal visitors.

"We person a agelong word strategy to diversify our tourism markets. We request to get those tourists and visitors and gathering delegates backmost from the U.S. and the planetary markets arsenic good arsenic conscionable from Canada."

Weir added that Canadians, particularly radical from highly populated areas of confederate Ontario, cognize Toronto and they are ever looking astatine what is caller to spot and bash successful the city.

"When they are looking astatine alternatives, if possibly they were readying a travel to the U.S. oregon determination else, and thinking, this is the clip to support it domestic, to support it wrong Canada, Toronto is people going to beryllium 1 of the options."