Canadian Travel to the U.S. Continues to Slide

Canadian travel to the United States is in a slump.

Five percent fewer Canadians traveled south of the border in August than did in July, making it the 11^th month out of the previous 12 to see tourism to the United States fall.

Canadian agents attribute the decline to a strong U.S. dollar, which impacts their buying power, and a lack of knowledge of just what the U.S. has to offer travelers.

Overall, travel from Canada to the United States fell 20.7% over the period September 2014 to August 2015, according to a report released today by Travelweek Group.

Some insiders said the drop might be due to the drop in value in the Canadian dollar, which for the first time since 2009 fell below 77 cents against the U.S. dollar in early July the Canadian dollar dropped.

Louise Bell, a travel agent at Stonetown Travel Ltd. Ontario, Canada says the depreciation is likely a large reason why Canadians are reluctant to travel to the U.S. in the recent months. Instead, she said, most of her customers were booking trips to the Caribbean and Europe.

Lynn Lia, an agent for Travel Professionals International in Winnipeg,Canada said her clients also are headed to the warmer climates, such as the Caribbean, and especially to all-inclusive resorts.

The U.S. just doesn’t seem to be on their radar. 

“Travelers’ knowledge of the U.S. is something I hope to give them because they are unaware of the U.S. and the options there,” she said.

Maine also has had a significant drop in Canadian travelers over the past few summers, reports the Portland Press Herald. In 2013, when the Canadian dollar was closer in face value to the dollar, 5.5 million visitors came from Canada and spent $1.3 billion.

While overall the number of visitors to Maine has been on the increase, visits by Canadians declined by 24%, to 4.2 million, in 2014, and 2015 numbers are even worse, according to the Maine Office of Tourism.