It’s apparently business as usual for American travellers and travel agencies, as Canadian consumers, agencies, tour operators and airlines gnash their teeth about the future of transborder travel.
And there’s lots to gnash about: the U.S. Travel Association reports that Canadians spend on average US$20B (that’s a B) annually on tourism in the U.S. Even a partial boycott could cause serious damage.
But speaking with a few agents south of the border, Open Jaw learned that, for the most part, their travel landscape remains unchanged.
On the line from Wilmington, Mass. (about 35 minutes NW of Boston), Bruce Mandel doesn’t see a lot of difference. The President of Longwood Travel, Mandel says that he thinks that 2025 is going to break the record for sales at the 50 year old agency. “Europe is going through the roof,” he told Open Jaw.
According to the agents we spoke with, the current “Buy American” attitude has not increased the demand for domestic travel by, for example, doing an escorted coach tour. “Hawaii yes, but we sell more Caribbean, Mexico and Europe. People aren’t asking about the Grand Canyon or national parks. Not even Florida – our Disney business is actually down,” Mandel reported.
What about travelling north of the border? Surely the limp loonie should make it more appealing for Americans to vacation in Canada?
Located in Spokane, Wash. (a 3-hour drive from the Canadian border), Cathy Nystrom of Edwards LaLone Travel indicates a limited demand for Canada apart from YVR (again, Alaska cruise stopovers) and St. Lawrence cruising.
And while Mandel was pleasantly surprised at the exchange rate when booking a group of 15 hotel rooms in Ottawa in May, he guesses that not a lot of Americans are aware of the differential. His northbound business comes in bits and pieces: some YVR stayovers for Alaska cruises, a smattering of Rocky Mountaineer, and YYZ during baseball season. “Canada is a great country and you’d think we’d want to travel there more.”
Leigh Ann Arnholt of Carson Travel in Mansfield, Ohio, says she loves Vancouver and sells a lot of it as Alaska cruise extensions. And she is working on a big Rocky Mountaineer group. She estimates that about only half of her clientele are even aware of a dollar differential.
Longer haul travel is the brightest picture of all, with these agents reporting enormous demand for Europe in particular. Mandel remarked that he is currently working on about 35 files, including 3 groups to the Caribbean.
What about America’s image abroad? Does the often-negative coverage of the new administration make Americans leery about foreign travel? Not according to these 3, who report the very occasional query about “safety” but not in relation to any anti-American sentiment. “I’ve had one cancellation and 2 clients who are on the fence about a trip to France but the numbers are less than a handful,” said Nystrom.
Interestingly, none of the agents we spoke with were aware of any retaliation in Canada to the tariffs, “51st state” comments etc.
So, apart from some uncertain-times jitters (“Nobody likes the bumpiness of change. I’m hoping that the anger will dissolve,” said Arnholt) it looks like, for now, American agents see their businesses continuing just as in the past.
As she added: “No one wants the travel industry to take a hit - Lord knows we just got out of Covid. I think this will get figured out.”
Statistics Canada figures released on 10MAR say the number of Canadians returning to Canada from the U.S. by air was down 2.4% last month, compared to February 2024. The number of Canadians who returned from the U.S. by car, however, was down 23%.
"It doesn't surprise me that we're seeing a reduction in discretionary travel to the States," Avery Campbell, ACTA's Director of Advocacy and Industry Relations, told Open Jaw
Given that people usually book their air tickets well in advance and might not want to cancel for fear of costly penalties, Campbell said he expects Canadian air travel numbers to the States will start dropping in the coming months.
