≡-Canada Withdraws Tourists From US, Creating Ripple Effect That Threatens Thousands Of Jobs – Viral of Today

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Home » America Travel News » Canada Withdraws Tourists From US, Creating Ripple Effect That Threatens Thousands Of Jobs Saturday, July 12, 2025In a dramatic shift driven by political tensions, tariff disputes, and rising reports of Canadian travelers facing detentions at the US border, Canada has drastically reduced its outbound tourism to the United States in 2025. New government data shows Canadian visits to the US by car dropped by over 33% and air travel declined by 22% compared to the previous year. This sharp withdrawal of Canadian tourists—who historically account for one-quarter of all international visitors to the US—has triggered a cascading economic effect across the American tourism sector, placing tens of thousands of jobs at risk in industries such as hospitality, transportation, and retail.Canada-US Travel Relations Hit Rock Bottom as Canadian Visits Plunge and Tourism Boycott Sparks $29 Billion Economic Blow to American Economy in 2025The once-vibrant travel exchange between Canada and the United States has taken a sharp and dramatic downturn in 2025, with new data revealing a sustained and deepening collapse in Canadian visits to the US. A travel boycott spurred by political tensions, combined with border incidents and shifting traveler sentiment, is now driving a cascading crisis across the American tourism economy. Experts warn the fallout could result in a devastating $29 billion economic loss this year alone.Canadian Road Trips to the US Drop by One-ThirdAccording to Statistics Canada, automobile journeys to the United States by Canadians—what was historically the most common method by which Canadians traveled to visit the southern neighbor—dropped by thirty-three percent in June 2025 from the same month a year ago. The number was the latest to follow the downward trend, following a thirty-eight percent decline in May and corresponding to double-digit declines each month since the month of April.Road travel isn’t the only category affected by travel decline. Flight travel between the United States and Canada was also down by twenty-two percent year to date during June, which shows the pervasiveness of the decline. Overall, these figures prove that June was the sixth consecutive month of major declines by Canadian inbound travel—pointing to an ingrained cross-border tourism crisis.This continued drop is an historic one within the post-pandemic period and is sending alarm bells throughout the US hotel, travel, and tourism sectors, where Canadian tourists have traditionally been a major economic contributor.Why Canadian Tourists Matter to the US EconomyIn 2024, Canadian visitors accounted for approximately one-quarter of all foreign tourists traveling to the United States, according to figures released by the US National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO). That year, they collectively spent over twenty point five billion US dollars while vacationing, shopping, and attending business events in the country.To put this in perspective, Canadian tourist spending in the US nearly doubled the amount Americans spent at McDonald’s, which reported revenue of ten point four billion dollars during the same period. These figures highlight how critical the Canadian market is to the overall health of the US tourism sector.Earlier this year, the US Travel Association (USTA) warned that even a ten percent reduction in Canadian inbound travel could result in a two point one billion dollar decline in spending, endangering over one hundred forty thousand jobs in tourism-dependent industries.However, with travel numbers now declining by over thirty percent, the actual damage is poised to be significantly worse. Industry analysts believe the losses from the Canadian market alone could contribute to billions in unanticipated shortfalls, worsening an already fragile international tourism forecast.What Sparked the Canadian Boycott of US Travel?The roots of the current crisis can be traced back to early February 2025, when US President Donald Trump reignited trade tensions with Canada by floating new tariffs and provocatively referring to the country as “the 51st state.” These comments were widely covered in both American and Canadian media, triggering a wave of public backlash.Responding, then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, still in office up to April, appealed to Canadian tourists not to spend their tourism dollar inside the United States, rather asking them to spend the same tourism dollar on local or on other overseas destinations.His message was highly resonant throughout Canada. As a Leger Marketing poll carried out mid-May among more than 1,500 Canadian adults revealed:Three-quarters of those who had been planning a US vacation stated that Trump’s tariff statements influenced their decision.Fifty-six percent of them subsequently chose to change their travel destination to another country.This collective opt-out by US travel gained further momentum by reports, extensively covered by the Canadian mainstream, that over fifty Canadian citizens were being held back by US land border crossings on questionable pretexts. These developments came to the minds of many Canadians as illegitimate and politically motivated.One-time Member of Parliament Charlie Angus, responding to such headlines, publicly urged the Canadian government to issue an official travel advisory not to travel to the United States. He, in a statement, characterized the US as “a country that has no regard for the rights of the individual or the rule of law.” He struck a raw nerve among many Canadians who fear traveling to a politically unstable US.Asked about the arrests, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said that they had no statement to make and referred further questioning to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), furthering the diplomatic silence and speculation about targeted moves.Fewer Americans Are Coming to Canada AlsoAs travel from Canada to the United States hits an all-time low, travel from the United States to Canada is going in the same direction. According to Statistics Canada, US citizen visits to Canada dipped in June 2025, car travel dropping by ten percent year-over-year. The decline followed a trend from May, which fell eight percent.Although this reverse trend has garnered less scrutiny, the concomitant decline mirrors an overall decline in bilateral tourism, which was likely caused by distrust, economic volatility, and political tensions between the two nations. It additionally illustrates the brittle nature of North America’s unified tourism-based economy.US Faces Wider International Tourism DeclinesBeyond the Canada-US dynamic, the broader picture for international travel to the US in 2025 is increasingly grim. According to a Tourism Economics report—produced by Oxford Economics—the US is facing a:Nine percent drop in international arrivals for the yearEight point five billion dollar decline (-4.7%) in international tourism spending compared to 2024Though concerning by itself, this drop is that much more disastrous within the broader context. 2025 had been predicted to be a good recovery year for US travel since the pandemic hiatus and years oflimited global travel.The industry was expected to see a sixteen point three billion dollar increase in revenues from international markets by 2025. However, since current estimates suggest losses up to twelve point five billion dollars, the overall effect translates to a combined reversal of revenues amounting to twenty-nine billion dollars.Tourism Economics President Adam Sacks described the outlook as “catastrophic” earlier this year, saying expectations not only failed to materialize, but opposite expectations occurred.What began as a diplomatic spat has escalated to an all-out cross-border travel emergency, fueled by political rhetoric, travel woes, and loss of confidence between two of the world’s closest friends. While US road trips, flights, and travel plummet to record-breaking lows, and economic loss ticks up by tens of billions, travel-dependent regions and businesses all over the US are suffering the pain.Unless political leaders work swiftly to mend relations and restore confidence among travelers, the outlook for North American tourism in 2025 and beyond remains uncertain—and potentially disastrous.Key Stats Recap:MetricDecline/ValuePeriodCanadian car travel to US-33%June 2025 YoYCanadian air travel to US-22%June 2025 YoYCanadian tourist spending in US$20.5 billion2024Forecast US international tourism revenue loss$29 billion2025Americans traveling to Canada (by car)-10%June 2025 YoYCanada has cut travel to the US amid political tensions, detention along the borders, and a countrywide boycott of US tourism, and the effects are sending thousands of US jobs into a tailspin. As Canadian visits drop by more than 30%, economic damage comes to major industries such as transport and hospitality.The rapid collapse in travel from Canada to the US throughout 2025 has mushroomed from a transient perturbation to a full-blown tourism disaster of immense economic significance. Fuelled by hot streaks of political hostility, inflammatory speech, and rising cases of border arrests, the travel sanctions by Canadians not just reduce flows of visitors, but haemorrhage off billions of revenue and put tens of thousands of jobs within major industries all over the US at risk. As the fallout takes its effects throughout airlines, accommodations, restaurants, and stores, the collapse of previously one among the most stable transborder travel corridors accentuates the necessity for expedited repair work on the diplomacy and policy level. And unless confidence and trust are restored promptly, the economic damage may accelerate throughout 2026 and beyond.Tags: Tourism news, Travel News

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