TORONTO — As the U.S. faces the prospect of fewer cross-border and international visitors this year, there are reports of increasing prices for non-U.S. destinations, due in part to higher demand.
Thereʻs also word that cross-border auto traffic from Canada into the U.S. has hit its lowest level since the pandemic.
New coverage from NBC News reports that some Canadian travellers arenʻt just avoiding U.S. travel amid the trade war – theyʻre avoiding U.S. connections and layovers too.
Vancouver-based Michael Mortensen told the news site he scrapped plans for a $10,000 family vacation in Hawaii and is looking for other options that skirt the U.S. completely – not just U.S. destinations, but connections and layovers too.
Mortensen said he even wrote letters explaining his position to the governor of Hawaii and the Hawaii tourism board.
NBC News also notes that a recent Leger poll suggested more than a third of Canadians with U.S. travel plans (36%) have made cancellations.
As more Canadian travellers divert their vacation dollars away from the U.S., some say theyʻre seeing prices for other destinations inch up.
As reported by CityNews in Vancouver, Andrew Stafford with Flight Centre Kitsilano said heʻs seeing price increases for tour operator packages through this year and into next year, for top vacation spots like Mexico. He attributes the increases to the weak Canadian loonie, as well as higher demand. “Weʻre starting to see those prices go up, sooner than we normally would,” said Stafford.
Last week Travelweek reported that StatCan noted a 14.5% reduction in total travellers coming from Canada to the U.S., by land and air, in February. Also in February, Leger released a report that found 48% of Canadians intend to avoid travel to the U.S., while Ipsos reported that this number went up to 65% later in the month. And the latest data from GPS Market states that 73% of Canadians intend to avoid U.S. travel.
Meanwhile the CBC reported today that according to the latest figures from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the number of Canadians crossing the land border into the U.S. in February 2025 was 2,223,408, a drop of almost 500,000 compared to February 2024 (2,696,512).
Thatʻs the lowest itʻs been since April 2022.
