Canadians may be cutting back on trips to the US faster than official border figures indicate, a new University of Toronto study reports.
Researchers used anonymous cellphone data and looked at travel patterns between Canada and major US cities. They found a sharper decline than official border statistics show. Roughly 42% last year, compared with 25% in the crossing data.
According to a recent report by CBS, the slowdown in travel from Canada to the US was tied to growing political and economic tensions, including tariffs, immigration policy changes, and lingering backlash connected to comments made by President Donald Trump. There are some Canadians openly boycotting US products and vacations.
The study indicated several US vacation destinations saw sharp declines, such as Myrtle Beach, with roughly 65% fewer Canadian visitors. Yuma, Arizona with 62% fewer visitors. And in Florida, Miami, Palm Bay, and Panama City were all among the hardest-hit metro areas, while San Francisco recorded a drop of more than 50%.
The slowdown to the US was not just tied to vacations and weekend getaways. According to the study, Canadian travel into the US has been declining across business travel as well. Financial and corporate hubs, like San Francisco and Houston, also saw noticeable drops. This is a sign that the pullback may be tied to wider economic unease on both sides of the border.
Earlier this year, Florida tourism officials were already trying to slow the slide. Bryan Griffin, president and CEO of Visit Florida, said in February, the organization was working with Canadian partners to keep visitation numbers stable.
“We’re doing what we can, just as we are with any country outside the United States, to make sure that visitation remains strong,” Griffin said at the time.
Las Vegas has also been trying to win Canadians back. Some casinos and hotels recently launched “At Par” promotions that temporarily treat Canadian and US dollars as equal in value, even though the Canadian dollar currently trades lower.
Basically, $1 Canadian gets you $1 US at participating properties through the end of August.
Whether promotions like that are enough to reverse the trend is another question entirely.
