'I don't blame you': U.S. tourism hot spots mourn Canadian travel cancellations

Kris Reyes · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 17, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

For arsenic agelong arsenic Matt Levy has been moving Spread Love Tours successful New York City, helium could ever trust connected Canadians to bring him business.

"I tin archer you, 30 to 50 per cent of the tours that my institution gives are for Canadian precocious schoolhouse groups," Levy precocious said, moments earlier giving a circuit to a radical from Georgia.

Spread Love Tours NYC, which has been successful concern for much than 2 decades, takes visitors to each of the major landmarks. Levy, who does galore of the tours himself, has taken thousands of Canadians astir the metropolis helium loves.

But this year, helium said helium has hardly immoderate Canadian bookings.  

"My institution grossed $35,000 exclusively from Canadian precocious schoolhouse kids coming to New York City for their people trip," helium said astir his 2024 earnings. This year, he's astatine $5,000, with cancellations happening each week. 

Levy said his Canadian customers aren't saying explicitly wherefore they're cancelling, but helium has enactment 2 and 2 together. 

"I cognize why, and it's due to the fact that my president is threatening to annex your country."

President Donald Trump archetypal made the proposition that Canada should go the 51st authorities successful December, aft his predetermination triumph successful November. He has repeated the proposition galore times since, on with airing grievances astir the U.S.-Canada commercialized narration and borderline security. 

That's successful summation to unleashing a historical tariff argumentation against Canada and the remainder of the world.

The effect connected tourism came accelerated and furious, with Canadians making nationalist declarations astir cancelling their U.S. vacations oregon refusing to sojourn their confederate neighbour altogether. 

Cancelled trips 

In caller months, Canadian airlines person reduced oregon cancelled flights owed to a driblet successful demand.

Land borderline crossings betwixt Canada and the U.S. person besides dropped significantly, with March showing adjacent to a cardinal less travellers compared to the aforesaid play past year, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

"I don't blasted you. I wouldn't travel down to my state either if I were successful your situation," said Levy. 

WATCH | How one NYC circuit usher is feeling the effect of less Canadians travelling to the U.S.: 

He describes the nonaccomplishment of concern arsenic heartbreaking, and that it affects everyone who works for his company.   

He's not the lone 1 feeling the abrupt frost from Canadian tourists. There is fearfulness and interest crossed the full U.S. tourism industry.

According to the U.S. Travel Association, Canada was the apical root of planetary visitors to the U.S. successful 2024, generating $20 cardinal US and supporting 140,000 jobs. 

'We emotion you guys'  

In fashionable destinations similar Palm Springs, Calif., the metropolis authorities has begun installing banners connected streetlights that work Palm Springs ♥️ Canada.  

Other states similar Florida and Arizona, wherever Canadians are a apical root of tourism revenue, are sounding the alarm. 

Mike Huckins of the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce precocious told media outlet Arizona Family, "We person a batch of snowbirds that travel successful from Canada for agelong periods of time. Arizona is benignant of celebrated for it, truthful a small acrophobic astir immoderate of those visitors delaying oregon ending their plans to travel for an extended magnitude of time."

There's besides interest successful Wildwood, N.J., a Jersey Shore formation municipality wherever Canadians are truthful ubiquitous successful the summertime months that determination are hotels with names similar the Quebec Motel and the Royal Canadian.

John Donio, the president of the Wildwood Business Improvement District, is blessed to study determination hasn't been a question of cancellations successful caller months. But determination is capable of a interest that he's moving with his chap concern owners connected immoderate caller messaging. 

"We conscionable privation our friends up northbound to cognize that present successful New Jersey, successful the Wildwoods, we emotion you guys," helium said. "You're invited present always … and we cognize that without our Canadian friends, it's conscionable not the aforesaid successful the Wildwoods."

WATCH | N.J. formation municipality wants its Canadian visitors to travel this summer: 

Michael Bolero, wide manager astatine the Bolero, a edifice successful Wildwood, got a telling telephone telephone from a impermanent with a summertime booking. She wanted to cognize astir the resort's cancellation fee, successful lawsuit President Trump escalates tensions with Canada. 

"Unfortunately, we did accidental that there's nary escaped cancellations connected geopolitical issues," Bolero said. 

'It's a large family, and we person to resoluteness it'

Canadian visitors person been guests for decades astatine the Quebec Motel, truthful named by the archetypal proprietor aft helium spent clip successful Canada.

Lester Katsanis, the existent proprietor of the motel, is acutely alert of the peculiar narration betwixt Wildwood and its Canadian visitors. He tin callback families who've returned summertime aft summertime — watching their children turn up and yet instrumentality with kids of their own.

He's optimistic that Wildwood's narration with Canadians volition past the fraught authorities of Canada-U.S. relations.

"It's a large family, and we person to resoluteness it," helium said, referring to the longstanding enslaved betwixt Canada and the U.S. "We emotion you."

WATCH | Will dwindling Canadian tourism sting the U.S. economy?

Levy is besides trying to stay optimistic, adjacent arsenic Canadians look acceptable to take authorities implicit their question plans.

"I bash cognize that Canadians person a agelong representation and don't forgive easily. I bash deliberation that New York is precise chiseled and precise abstracted from American authorities and identity. And I bash deliberation that Canadians volition instrumentality to New York soon."