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Dear friends in tourism,
We’ve heard many of your concerns about the ongoing trade and diplomatic tensions between the United States and Canada and their impact on our region’s tourism industry. Canadian visitors have played an integral role in Buffalo’s growth as a visitor destination, and we share your concerns about the potential chilling effect these tensions may have on the travel decisions of millions of prospective visitors who live just across the border in Southern Ontario.
Here's an update on what we know so far about the impact of these tensions on our economy and how Visit Buffalo Niagara is responding:
Impact on Canadian Visitation:
Visit Buffalo Niagara has seen traveler sentiment data suggesting that fewer Canadians intend to travel to the United States in the future. We have heard reports from Canadian-based journalists that their publishers are pulling their stories on U.S. destinations. And we have received countless communications from Canadians expressing their frustration with U.S. policy.
What we have seen less of is hard data that proves Canadians are choosing not to visit the United States, but that is beginning to trickle in. This week, Statistics Canada released data showing 23 percent fewer car trips from Canadians to the United States in February. Cross-border traffic in February at our region’s four international bridges was down 14.4 percent from February 2024. Visit Buffalo Niagara has also seen a 45 percent decrease in Canadian traffic to its website.
How Visit Buffalo Niagara is Responding:
To be nimble with this highly fluid situation, the VBN Marketing and Communications team is actively revising our Buffalo Loves Canada campaign and exploring a potential partnership with Expedia to target Canadian travelers who are still actively searching for travel in the U.S. Additionally, we are working with our PR agency to distribute targeted messages to Canadian journalists and media outlets that are not participating in the U.S. boycott. We are also considering hosting an event in Toronto to engage with these media representatives.
In response to the decline in Canadian travel, we are also reallocating some of our Canada-focused resources toward other U.S. markets to help drive visitation and offset potential losses.
How the U.S. Travel Association is Responding:
U.S. Travel is raising the issue of Canadian travel with the Trump administration and congressional allies. In all cases, “actual” data—as opposed to anecdotes and traveler sentiment—is required for a productive conversation and to inform policy. However, they assess that modest declines in Canadian travel to the United States are unlikely to shift trade policy in the near term.
Please keep us posted on any changes to your business or sentiments you have heard from Canadian visitors. Together, we will navigate this complex and evolving situation. In the weeks and months ahead, we will continue to provide more updates on these impacts and our response.
Sincerely,
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