Womp Womp: Canadian Trips By Car To US Dropped 35% YOY In April; # Of Canada-US Flights Down 20%
According to recent statistics, the number of Canadian residents returning from the US by car fell dramatically in April. Compared to the same month last year, vehicle-based re-entries plummeted by approximately thirty-five percent, equating to a reduction of around six hundred seventy thousand trips. This decline mirrors a similar trend observed in March, when road travel dropped by over six hundred eighty thousand crossings, or about thirty-two percent. Air travel has also not been immune. Flights between Canada and the United States experienced a sharp contraction, with a nearly twenty percent year-over-year decrease in April. Conversely, travel by Canadians to destinations outside the US by air rose by nearly ten percent during the same period — a clear indicator that while travel is not diminishing overall, the choice of destination is undergoing significant change.
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The ripple effects of this shift are being felt strongly in the US tourism and retail sectors. Communities and cities near the Canadian border — once popular shopping and vacation hotspots — are reporting noticeable downturns in business activity. Online travel agencies and booking services have noted a nearly thirty percent decline in reservations originating from Canada. To recover lost revenue, some border-area businesses in the US have adopted incentive programs aimed at attracting Canadian customers. These include promotions where Canadian dollars are accepted at parity with their US counterparts, effectively offering a discount to counteract the unfavorable exchange rate.
On a national scale, the implications are even more pronounced. Official data reveals that US travel service exports — covering international spending on hotels, restaurants, and entertainment — dropped by over seven percent in March. Excluding the pandemic period, this represents one of the most significant contractions in nearly twenty-five years. The tourism decline is hitting hospitality, retail, and service industries particularly hard, raising concerns over slowing growth and the possibility of job reductions in tourism-reliant regions.
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What once seemed like a stable and routine travel relationship between Canada and the United States is now facing a notable downturn. Canadians are shifting away from their southern neighbor as a preferred destination due to a combination of political strain, economic grievances, and immigration apprehensions. At the same time, US businesses reliant on Canadian tourism are already feeling the economic pinch. As diplomatic and policy decisions continue to shape public sentiment, cross-border travel remains in flux — and both nations may need to reevaluate strategies to restore trust and visitor confidence in the months ahead.
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https://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/us-border-cities-struggle-as-canadian-tourism-collapses-in-2025-triggering-retail-slumps-hotel-vacancies-and-urgent-discounts-to-reverse-declining-cross-border-traffic/
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