More Kamloops, Okanagan travelers reconsidering US travel plans
Kamloops couple Victoria and Tony Ryan have been travelling to destinations in the United States for decades, either by car down the Oregon coast or flying to American cruise ports, but in response to Donald Trump’s trade war, they won’t be going again and cancelled a spring trip to Washington state.
“It’s the increasing way the American government, not the American people, is treating Canada that I choose to spend my dollars elsewhere,” Tony said.
The pair had booked a trip with a family member to see a tulip festival south of the border in April, but after Trump won the presidential election in November, the three cancelled the trip and instead will be spending a holiday together at Whistler in May.
“We don’t want to add to the American coffers when they’re doing this to Canada and even though we love the Washington location, we’re happy to change,” Victoria said.
Fewer Canadian residents are travelling to the U.S. in response to American president Donald Trump’s trade war and a weak loonie.
In February, there was a 13.1 per cent drop in the number of Canadians flying back from trips to the U.S. and a 23% drop in residents driving back compared to the same time last year, according to Statistics Canada.
Air Canada announced last month it would reduce flights by 10% to Florida, Las Vegas and Arizona starting in March, while WestJet said bookings are shifting from the U.S. to destinations like Mexico.
Flair Airlines' U.S. flights are down 24% year-over-year for March, according to aviation data firm Cirium, while Air Transat flights were down 12% and Sunwing Airlines removed all its U.S. flights.
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Darcy Anderson of Kamloops also cancelled his trip to the U.S. he had booked for June.
“A group of four of us motorcyclists were going to go to Yellowstone and Beartooth Pass for a seven-day trip,” he said. “We all discussed it and decided to keep our money on this side of the border until the states stop all the duty threats.”
Cameron Bissonnette runs Osoyoos Duty Free Shop at the Osoyoos border and said the decrease in Canadian traffic is dramatic.
“I was just working outside the facility and you could fire a cannon across the border and not hit anyone, it’s pretty grim," he said. "There's a steady flow of Washington plates and Oregon plates still heading to ski hills and accommodations, the U.S. dollar has buying power.
"I hope when people see these plates they’re welcoming. These people are spending hard earned money in our country."
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The Canadian dollar is worth just under 70 cents in the U.S. and Tony said the weak dollar is a factor when travelling in the states.
“We found our trip in December to be very expensive,” he said. “If you go buy a Starbucks coffee in Florida it’s the exact same price here, we were quite shocked about that.”
The most recent trip the Ryans took was to Florida in December for a cruise in the Florida Keys they’d booked months in advance.
“Trump wasn’t in office yet and we were so certain Kamala (Harris) was going to win,” Victoria said. “We said on our cruise, this may be our last trip to the states for four years.”
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The pair have long-time friends in Washington, Vermont and Florida, and said their decision has nothing to do with their American friends and everything to do with the current president.
The rejection of U.S. trips is part of a broad trend for patriotism in Canada, with consumers trying to source Canadian products and boycott American ones.
“I think that in the present political climate people are upset with the rhetoric coming from the U.S. and they’re unwilling to be bullied,” Victoria said. “We’re just not prepared to go and we’re also starting to feel a little less safe there than we used to.”
— With files from the Canadian Press
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