Visitors walk near in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, on July 22, 2025.
Robert F. Bukaty | AP Photo
The adage “time heals all wounds” isn’t holding true for Canadian travelers and their desire to vacation in America.
Visits to the US from Canada are down 25.2%, 12 months so far, with a 37% year-over-year drop in arrivals by automobile in July alone, based on Tourism Economics.
“Canadians were already concerned over their personal funds, but they’ve taken the rhetoric and policy announcements from the U.S. administration very personally,” said Amir Eylon, president and CEO of market research firm Longwoods International, which has been often surveying Canadian consumers.
“Unfortunately, things have gone from bad to worse,” he added.
A whopping 80% of Canadian travelers whose travel decisions are being influenced by U.S. policy and politics say U.S. tariffs and economic policy are the main negative influence. Seventy-one percent say political statements by U.S. leaders are a key negative factor, up from 64% in April, based on Longwoods International’s mid-July survey.
As a substitute of visiting the US, where AAA says Labor Day weekend travelers shall be having fun with lower year-over-year prices for all the pieces from gas, hotels and flights to automobile rental costs, disgruntled Canadians are planning to travel inside their very own country or book flights to other nations.
“They’re selecting destinations reminiscent of Mexico, the Caribbean and Western Europe,” Eylon said.
It isn’t just Canadians who’re staying away.
Geopolitical and policy-related concerns have also led to a decrease in visitors from Western Europe and Asia, experts say. Overseas arrivals to the U.S. dropped three months in a row, including a 3.1% drop in July, bringing the year-to-date decline to 1.6%, based on Tourism Economics.
Overall, the “sentiment drag has proven severe,” the group said in a knowledge update released last week. In December, it had forecast an approximate 9% increase in overall international arrivals to the US for 2025. It now expects an 8.2% decline.
Overseas visitor numbers throughout the US may dip even further because of the $250 visa integrity fee set to enter effect on Oct. 1. The brand new charge could be layered on top of other visa fees and apply to most anyone applying for a nonimmigrant visa for travel to the US, including visitors from China, Mexico and Brazil. 
The U.S. Travel Association calls it “a misguided junk fee” that can hike the upfront costs of visiting the U.S. by 130% just because the cities across the country already reeling from the lack of international visitors are preparing for major global events reminiscent of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, America’s 250th birthday and the 2028 Summer Olympics.
The fee, a part of Trump’s signature tax and spending law, requires coordination across agencies before it’s implemented, said a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, who defended the measure. “President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill provides the obligatory policies and resources to revive to our nation’s immigration system.”
Autumn of discontent
Destinations across the US are bracing for further travel dips in the autumn and are adjusting expectations and punctiliously crafting or holding off on latest campaigns.
“Our international visitors were forecasted to grow by 15% in 2025 but are actually forecast to drop by 10%,” said Dave O’Donnell, vp of strategic communications for Meet Boston, the organization that markets and promotes tourism in greater Boston.
In response, the group is planning winter campaigns and media missions to Mexico, the UK and, most notably, Canada. The group plans to host an event in Toronto in September, O’Donnell said.
In Rochester, Recent York, 90 minutes from the Canadian-U.S. border, 12% to fifteen% of tourists have traditionally come from Canada.
Summer numbers aren’t in yet, but “we all know some Canadians are selecting to remain home or travel to alternative destinations beyond the U.S.,” said Rachel Laber Pulvino, vp of communications for Monroe County’s tourism agency, Visit Rochester.
Rochester’s tourist attractions include the George Eastman Museum, the Strong National Museum of Play and the National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House. The town’s summer and fall tourism promotion plans have shifted from traditional tourism marketing messages to a “softer” approach, Laber Pulvino said, including a “Dear Canada” campaign launched earlier this summer. 
“It is basically a love letter to our neighbors to the north. Our message is easy: Once you’re ready, we shall be here,” she said.
Canadians made 20.4 million visits to the US in 2024. This 12 months, the steep pullback of Canadian visitors is anticipated to most negatively affect northern cities reminiscent of Seattle; Portland, Oregon; and Detroit. In those cities, overall international visitors are expected to say no this 12 months by about 27%, 18% and 17%, respectively, based on Tourism Economics.
“We typically wish to be at the highest of lists, but not this one,” Michael Woody, chief strategy officer for Visit Seattle, said.
Woody said the projected dip is “actually concerning” for Seattle. But, he added, Seattle is having an ideal summer due to an uptick in domestic visitors, summer live shows by Lady Gaga and a number of other other headliners, and a cruise season that the Port of Seattle estimates is bringing about 1.9 million passengers to town.
“We’re looking forward to when Canadian visitor numbers sure back, but that is driven by so many aspects that we have no control over,” he said.
In Portland, tourism has remained flat compared with last summer, largely because of a decline in Canadian visitors, said Jackie Hagan, director of communications for Travel Portland. But, heading into fall, Hagan said the tourism agency is taking a wait-and-see approach to reaching out to Canadian visitors.
“It is vital for us to acknowledge and respect their current decisions to not travel to the U.S., while also expressing that we look ahead to their return when the time feels right,” she said.
How’s it entering into Florida?
Not all states and cities are wringing hands over international visitor statistics.
Recently released data from Visit Florida Research estimates that 34.4 million visitors traveled to the Sunshine State within the second quarter of 2025, up 5% over the identical period in 2024. That features 640,000 Canadians — down 20% 12 months over 12 months — and a couple of.3 million overseas visitors, up 11.4% 12 months over 12 months.
In a press release celebrating the uptick in overall visits, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said, “People from everywhere in the world come to the Free State of Florida to make the most of our top-tier attractions, great weather, and our commitment to public safety.”
Greg Fisher, founder and CEO of Destin, Florida-based tour- and activity-booking site TripShock, is surprised that visitor numbers are up.
The tour operators his company works with report that business is either flat or down to this point in 2025, he said. “Lots of us in Florida are left wondering where these visitors are literally going and what they’re spending their money on,” he said.
Perhaps they’ll the Palm Beaches. There, international visitation for the primary half of 2025 is up 2.56% 12 months over 12 months, based on Milton Segarra, CEO of tourism marketing organization Discover the Palm Beaches.
While Canadian visitors to the world dipped 4.4% 12 months over 12 months, international markets reminiscent of Brazil, the UK, Germany and Colombia saw growth, he said.
Segarra tied the increased visitation to aspects reminiscent of latest tourism offerings “and, in fact, the worldwide highlight as President Trump’s chosen home base.” Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago house is in ritzy Palm Beach.
