The U.S. Could Lose Tens of Millions of Canadian Tourists in the Next 2 Years
By Space Coast Daily // December 11, 2019
The United States does not depend on the tourism industry at all. In fact, it could be said that internal tourism is a lot more profitable than any external income.
However, most of it could be associated with the pricing of tours, living costs and etc. Not many countries are able to afford a trip to the United States and make it something worth remembering on a budget.
Therefore, if there is any incoming tourism in the states, it’s usually from countries like the United Kingdom, Australia or, most importantly Canada.
You see, the ease of just crossing the border from Canada and going on a car trip trumps any other country’s ability to tour the United States.
Most of the issues come from a lack of a land border. Canadians have it both ways, however. They have a land connection, as well as the income to support a holiday in the US.
Even though Canada has more than enough lakes and two shorelines, they’re still a bit more likely to take a summer trip to California, Florida or even Nevada.
Most of those trips would culminate in a significant amount spent during the trip, thus supporting small or even large businesses in the area.
Should tens of millions of people stop visiting, it could be a much different picture for the local businesses. Here are some facts.
The number of tourists is decreasing rapidly
According to GlobalData, the number of Canadian tourists visiting the United States will have dropped by nearly 30% by 2022. And that’s counting from 2013.
What this means is that the US could lose nearly 10 million Canadian tourists by 2022. According to the data, around 23.4 million Canadians visited the US in 2013, meaning that the number has already gone down significantly.
Within the next two years, it could become almost unmaintainable.
But what are the reasons for such a decrease in tourists? Are there any legitimate causations that could be prevented in the future? Yes, yes there are.
General interest is falling
The general interest in the United States as a travel destination has been falling for quite some time now. Even if it didn’t the trend for targeting a more budget-friendly trip would have done the same amount of damage as people refraining from visiting the country would.
Most Canadians would visit their friends’ houses or maybe rent a small studio in a city they were visiting. The most extreme cases would be renting a spacious car where they would live as they traveled across the US. But the biggest hit to US tourism is the changing tastes of the tourists.
Beaches are not enough anymore
Most of the attractions that the United States can field has to do with beaches and casinos. Unfortunately, both of those are starting to leave the mainstream with the younger generations all over the world.
Most people are focused on spending quality time in an urban area and sightseeing rather than playing the best casino slots games or drinking margaritas on the beach.
Although this is not something that can be said about everybody, it’s safe to say that most Millenials and Gen Z enjoy a more “centralized” approach to their holidays.
Some may even say that staying home and relaxing is the best option, or maybe going for a spa weekend. And going for a spa weekend doesn’t necessarily require a border crossing now, does it?
How much could the US lose from this?
Considering that the average expenditure of a Canadian holiday is around $2,500 per person, it’s safe to say that the US could possibly lose $25 billion in annual revenue, thus damaging small as well as big businesses in key locations such as California, Florida, and Nevada.
Considering all of the other economic hurdles coming the US’ way this decrease in the number of tourists could actually be felt with large hotels dotted around the country. So much so that it could lead to issues expanding into foreign countries.
Furthermore, we need to consider that this is just Canada we’re talking about. Tourists from other countries are likely to follow suit in this trend and choose more budget-friendly locations in the future.
As for the USA though, it would be impossible to become budget-friendly while still paying bills and maintaining the businesses.
