Despite Warm Welcome, Canadians Continued to Avoid U.S. Travel This Summer

It was a stay-at-home summer for many Canadians, with more than half travelling only within their own province, and a continued avoidance of travel to the United States.

These insights come from a Leger study titled “Canadian and U.S. Travel Behaviour,” released October 2. Canadians were surveyed online about their summer travel intentions in May and again at the end of August. Americans were surveyed during the end-of-August period.

Most Canadians surveyed stayed close to home this summer, with 52% travelling within their own province — far more than the 37% who originally stated in-province travel as their intention.

U.S. travel from Canada continued to take a major hit: Only 13% of Canadians travelling for leisure visited the U.S. this summer. Over a quarter (27%) reported changing their travel plans due to tariffs and the political climate.

Going forward, there appears to be little positive change in Canadian attitudes toward U.S. travel. The Leger study found that nearly three in five Canadians (57%) say they are less open to travelling to the U.S. in the next six months, with almost half (49%) indicating they are much less open to U.S. travel.

For those that did venture south of the border, they reported experiencing a warm welcome. More than half of respondents (51%) said they felt ‘very welcome’ and another 29% reported feeling somewhat welcome. Just over one in five (21%) said they felt neither welcome nor unwelcome. A grand total of zero respondents said they felt ‘not very welcome’ or ‘not at all welcome.’

Americans’ summer travel remained mostly domestic, with Canada attracting little interest and tariffs showing minimal influence on their choices. Nearly nine out of ten (89%) U.S. leisure travellers stayed within the U.S., and Canada attracted only 5% of them.

Unlike Canadians, Americans’ travel decisions were far less influenced by politics or U.S.–Canada tensions. When Americans changed their travel plans, their choices were driven primarily by practical concerns like cost, personal reasons/scheduling conflicts and weather concerns. Just 13% cited political concerns impacting their travel plans, and only 8% said US/Canada tariffs had an impact.

A bright spot in the study for Canadian tourism operators is found in the 35% of Americans who say they are open to visiting Canada in the future.

Of the 42% of Canadians who travelled for leisure this summer, 15% travelled outside Canada and the U.S. Of the 39% of Americans who travelled for leisure, 11% travelled outside the U.S. or Canada.

Analyzing the poll results, Leger offered some advice to U.S. tourism operators seeking to attract more Canadians, despite the current political situation.

“The sharp decline in U.S.-bound travel is more about Canadians’ reactions to political tensions and recent decisions from U.S. leadership,” the study’s authors stated. 

“American tourism operators should focus on separating politics from the travel experience, emphasizing that Canadians are genuinely welcomed by communities across the U.S. Campaigns can highlight hospitality, local connections, and people-to-people warmth, reinforcing the message that ‘the politics don’t reflect the people.’”