PNN – Donald Trump’s threats to impose tariffs and make Canada the 51st US state have discouraged Canadians from traveling to America.
According to the Associated Press news agency, it has been a long tradition for Peter Mulholland and his wife to travel from Vancouver, Canada to Seattle, USA to watch the sports event of the Canadian professional basketball team with their American rivals, but this year it is not like that.
This Canadian citizen is now frustrated by Trump’s threats to impose crippling tariffs on imported goods from Canada and turn this country into the 50th state of the United States.
The 69-year-old and almost retired citizen living in Vancouver said that the tariffs that Trump wants to apply will harm both countries. In the end, this will be the result, but it will hurt us more.
He is one of the growing number of Canadian citizens who have given up choosing America as a destination to spend their vacations in their travels this year.
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A travel consultant at Vancouver-based Travel Group also said some travelers canceled flights they had already booked.
February is typically a busy month for these travel agencies in Canada as people plan spring vacations, the Associated Press wrote.
The Canadian dollar is currently worth 30 cents less than the US dollar, but according to McMillan, “politics” is the main reason Canadians are turning away from traveling to the United States.
Canadians are the top international visitors to the United States, according to the American Travel Association. In 2024, 20.4 million Canadians will travel to the United States, which will support 140,000 jobs in the United States at a cost of 20.5 billion dollars.
Mark Gallardo, executive vice president of revenue and planning for Canada’s largest airline, Air Canada, predicted in the company’s quarterly report last week that the number of Canadians traveling to the United States may decrease.
WestJet, Canada’s second largest airline, announced that in the first few weeks of this year, the company has seen an approximate 25% decrease in demand for flights to the United States compared to last year.
The Associated Press wrote that Trump’s threats have also affected the maritime industry and cruises from Canada to the United States, and Canadians prefer to travel to other destinations such as Mexico, Europe and Asia.