Some Vegas hotels are so desperate for Canadian tourists that they treat the Canadian dollar as equivalent to the US dollar in order to offer more value | Luck

As a Vancouver resident and marketing executive, Lowen said he understands the conciliatory efforts. The number of Canadians traveling to the United States has dropped sharply since President Donald Trump returned to office with talk of making Canada the 51st state. A bitter trade war between the two countries now threatens to intensify the informal boycott, although it appears to be easing slightly.

“It’s a very serious issue right now,” Lowen, 45, said of the U.S. tourism industry’s efforts to lure Canadians like him back before a new president takes the White House. “It’s just a waste of time.”

Relations between the US and Canadian governments have deteriorated sharply since trade talks collapsed last month. Trump has imposed import taxes of up to 50% on a number of Canadian products. The Canadian government responded in kind. Trump ordered the US government to change the name of Lake Ontario, which crosses the border, to “Lake America”. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called the insults from members of Trump’s cabinet childish and undignified.

The bipartisan rift hasn’t stopped state and local tourism officials, as well as popular destinations like Graceland, from trying to convince Canadian tourists to return.

This summer, New York State launched the New York Loves Canada promotion, offering discounts on hotels, restaurants and attractions. Some downtown Las Vegas hotels treat the Canadian dollar as equivalent to the US dollar to give Canadian visitors more bang for their buck. Las Vegas tourism officials traveled to Canada last month to meet with travel consultants, tour operators and airline representatives.

“We’re here to make sure you know we care about Canada,” said Steve Hill, president of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, while in Vancouver.

Explanatory work is also carried out at the national level. Brand USA, the U.S. travel industry’s marketing organization, will bring its Travel Week trade event series to Canada for the first time in October, expanding and rebranding an earlier program known as Canada Connect.

Travel to the US from Canada remains well below 2024 levels.

Canada has traditionally sent more overnight foreign visitors to the United States than any other country. Same-day and long-stay travel fell sharply amid last year’s consumer backlash. Canadians crossed the border 25% less in 2025 and spent about $2.4 billion ($3.3 billion CAD) less on travel to the U.S. in 2025 than the year before, according to Statistics Canada, Canada’s national statistics agency.

The retreat coincided with other headwinds, including a weaker Canadian dollar that has made travel to the U.S. more expensive, as well as rising airfare and hotel prices. Air travel from Canada to the United States began declining in September 2023, according to Statistics Canada.

But the sharp decline in U.S. travel that accompanied Trump’s second presidency and continued into this year signaled a “steady shift away from the United States among Canadians in their travel preferences,” the agency’s analysts said in a July report.

The agency said preliminary signs of improvement emerged in May, June and July, when border crossings increased slightly. The last two months have coincided with the 2026 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. Canada’s national soccer team competed in the opening weeks of the tournament, giving some Canadians a reason to head south. Carney attended the final match in New Jersey with Trump.

Travel by car accounted for most of the surge in cross-border traffic, while air travel in the U.S. was down year-over-year in every month through June, according to Statistics Canada. During the first six months of 2026, Canadians made even fewer overnight visits, which typically generate more tourism spending, than during the same period last year, the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Administration estimates.

Snowbirds could be a barometer of sentiment in Canada

The day after the World Cup ended, Trump announced that tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods would take effect in 30 days. The White House said the tariffs are intended to address U.S. complaints about Canadian barriers to U.S.-made cars, alcohol and dairy products.

“You go from this really high and exciting moment for the U.S. in terms of international attention to next week, it’s negative again,” said Deborah Friedland, a hospitality consultant at financial services firm Eisner Advisory Group. “It’s one step forward and two steps back.”

As summer comes to an end, some of the U.S. destinations most reliant on Canadian visitors are heading into their most important season. When temperatures at home drop, large numbers of Canadian snowbirds typically flock to warm-weather destinations in Florida, Arizona and California, making the coming months a test of whether the mass boycott will last into next winter.

“I would be surprised if in a year we suddenly saw a huge surge in travel to Canada during the winter months,” Friedland said.

Not all tourism officials are worried. Jennifer Adams, tourism director for the Destin-Fort Walton Beach region in Florida’s Panhandle, said she never panicked when headlines first emerged last year about Canadians avoiding travel to the United States.

“I think our message was strong,” she said, adding that “our goal is to let Canadian families know that they are welcome here and we are committed to giving them a memorable experience when they come here.”

Florida saw a 7% decline in Canadian visitors in 2025 compared to the previous year, according to government marketing organization Visit Florida. Subsidiary organization Visit California, citing data from global research and consulting firm Tourism Economics, estimates that Canadian visits to the Golden State are down 20%.

The promise of a good vacation isn’t enough for some Canadians.

Lowen, a marketing executive in Vancouver, said his family really enjoyed visiting the United States. He, his wife and two children traveled frequently to San Diego, Portland and Seattle. This year they chose Mexico instead.

The resistance, Lowen says, has nothing to do with whether the US can offer a good vacation. It’s about whether Canadians want to spend their money there while tensions between their country and the US remain so high. Lowen said his family has not visited the United States since Trump’s inauguration and has no plans to do so until there is a new president.

Eileen March, a life coach in Calgary, said she made a similar decision. Trump’s threats to make Canada the 51st state and his trade policies were part of that, as was a broader sense that he no longer felt safe and welcome in the United States, March said.

“Over time, I started to hesitate,” she said. The latest round of tariffs “reinforced my original decision not to travel at all in the US while he is in office.” She refuses to even book connecting flights to the US.

March, 41, knows four years away from home is a long time. She’s ready to go even longer.

“I think it’s really going to depend on who gets elected next, their values ​​and the relationship they’re trying to maintain or rebuild with Canada,” she said.