Current Administration Impacts to Tourism

by Gary DeYoung

There is an adage in tourism: “People go where invited and stay where they are welcomed.” The meaning is that successful destinations must both market for tourism and create a welcoming atmosphere for visitors. Recently, Canadian visitors are not feeling welcomed and are turning down the USA’s invitation. These impacts are being felt across the U.S. and here in Clallam County.

Longwoods International, a respected travel research consultancy, surveyed 1,000 Canadian travelers in April about their travel intentions to the U.S. Of those surveyed, 60% said U.S. policies and politics make them less likely to visit and 36% had planned a U.S. trip but have since cancelled.

Tariffs and economic policies were cited by 79% of those that had changed plans. Political statements by U.S. leaders were cited by 64% as a reason for changing plans. The survey reflects a feeling by most Canadians that U.S. leaders have pulled away the welcome mat.

Border data shows that big drops in the Canadian tourism traffic are already being felt in the wake of Republican policies and rhetoric, significantly shrinking Canada’s $20.5 billion in annual spending as estimated by the U.S. Travel Association. For example, Statistics Canada shows decreases in Canadian automobile border crossings to British Columbia from the USA of 50-60%.

Image credit: Statistics Canada

Other factors do play a role. Most notably, tourism from Canada is always higher when the Loonie is stronger. The value of the Canadian dollar has been hovering between $.70 and $.75 since 2022, lower than previous levels that reached as high as one-to-one back in 2007. The Longwoods survey showed 47% of respondents cited the exchange rate as a factor in not visiting the U.S. Until 2025, tourism’s recovery from COVID shutdowns had been showing positive trends over the last couple of years despite the exchange rate obstacle.

The loss of Canadian business is significant for Clallam County and Washington State as a whole. The most popular destinations for Canadians are the warm weather states of Florida, California, Texas, and Hawaii, along with near border states of New York, Michigan, and Washington. 

The Peninsula Daily News (PDN) reported on May 24, 2025, that “since January, ferry trips between Victoria and Port Angeles have decreased, local events have seen fewer Canadian participants and demand for hotels across the Peninsula has dropped.” The PDN interviewed Black Ball Ferry CEO Rian Anderson, who reported that “since service restarted in February, foot travel is down 13 percent and vehicle traffic is down 15 percent from last year,” while “travel appears to be less for Canadians than it is for Americans.” As a result, Black Ball has been reducing the number of crossings by the Coho ferry.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection posts statistics on travel through the Victoria pre-clearance station to Port Angeles (https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/travel). Crossing numbers in the fall months of 2023 and 2024 were similar, but from January through May dropped by almost 25%. 

Arrivals to U.S.. through pre-clearance station in Victoria B.C. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection)

There are signs that Clallam County is feeling other impacts. The PDN reports that fewer participants from Canada are registering for events like cycling and marathon races, or Canadian participants are canceling their registrations. Website searches at the Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau have dropped about 45%, and hotel bookings in Washington have dropped over 6%. 

Many of the metrics of Canadian tourism in Clallam County lag by several months, and impacts are greatest in the summer season. So the full effect may not be known until later this year.

Nationally, both Air Canada and Westjet have cancelled some routes to the U.S. due to falling demand. While Florida and Hawaii receive their Canadian visitors by air, the northern border states mostly see most Canadian visitors arriving by car. In 2024, Statistics Canada tracked over 28 million visits by Canadians returning home by car at the northern border. A quarter of those returning Canadians came back over the British Columbia border. Of particular interest to Port Angeles, another 72,163 Canadians returned to British Columbia by ferry in 2024.

Statistics Canada says “In the second quarter of 2024, Canadian residents spent an average of $1,001 per trip to the United States ($153 for same-day trips and $1,563 for overnight trips), with an average trip length of 4.2 nights. Accommodations, and restaurants and bars, represented the main expenditure categories.” Of British Columbia land border users, 32% were on overnight visits, while over 95% of ferry users were on overnight visits.

Using the Statistics Canada information, one could estimate the car travelers returning to B.C. spent nearly $3 billion in the U.S. ($4.2 billion Canadian). Ferry travelers spent about $78 million in the United States ($108 million Canadian). Any reduction in that spending translates to lost income across the entire hospitality industry, where about 30% of gross revenue is spent on labor.

Data from Europe and Asia also indicates a significant decline in bookings bound for the U.S. Like anyone on a longer trip, overseas visitors spend far more on average than domestic visitors. That does not just impact Broadway shows and Disney theme parks. About a third of international visitors include national parks in their U.S. experience. Traditionally, international tourism has been a category where the U.S. enjoyed a trade surplus with other countries. Tourism is now turning into a trade deficit.

Some may discount concerns, arguing that any losses in international tourism will be made up by the domestic market. In an April interview with ABC, the Republican President predicted, “Tourism is gonna be way up. Wait till you see the numbers. The tourism is way up."  Early data from international markets runs contrary to that assessment.

The question of overall tourism performance will hinge on the strength of domestic travel. With travel rebounding since COVID, expectations had been high. But Deloitte issued a cautious statement based on their April survey work. “In summer 2024, fewer Americans traveled, and those who did, planned to spend enthusiastically to maximize their experiences. This year’s trends appear poised to run in the opposite direction—more travelers and more trips, but a more frugal approach.” The same report warned of shifting consumer sentiment: “. . . over a two-week period, Americans’ vacation plans changed in one big way: the amount of money they plan to spend. The average summer travel budget was set to grow 21% year on year, as of late March. By early April, this figure dropped to 13%.”

The IPSOS Consumer Tracker out in the last week of May paints a more pessimistic picture when comparing 2025 to 2024: “. . . .the big hit is the long road trip of more than 100 miles, which is down 13 points to 58%.”  That means you will likely see fewer out-of-state plates on 101 heading into Olympic National Park. While Bank of America Institute’s May survey shows that 70% of Americans plan on vacations this summer, actual credit card spending at hotels and airlines has been down for the period January 1 to May 3.
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The current political policies and rhetoric are playing a significant role in reducing international tourism and may be curtailing domestic travel spending as consumer confidence is suppressed.

About the Author: Before retiring to Port Angeles, Gary DeYoung spent a 40-year career with destination marketing organizations in Wisconsin and New York State. For 20 years, he was the CEO of the 1000 Islands International Tourism Council, a bi-national organization that promotes a region along the St. Lawrence River in Northern New York and Eastern Ontario. In that role, he worked closely with many American and Canadian partners at the local, state, provincial, and national levels.