Like most Canadians, I’ve travelled to the United States a lot in my lifetime. As part of my job as a tourism researcher at Thompson Rivers University, I attend a large American conference for geographers every year. Once it’s done, I usually take a road trip with my colleagues to explore the area around the host city.

The most epic adventure came after the Tampa conference, when we drove partway through the South and ended in Denver at a Wyclef Jean concert—on 4/20, of all days. So far, I’ve visited 35 states, and I’d eventually love to hit all 50. But I decided that this year’s event in Detroit would be my last for the time being. Avoiding trips to the U.S. in favour of exploring our own country is the traveller’s version of buying Canadian—a way for all of us to fight back.

The decline of cross-border tourism began even before the trade war escalated in April. According to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Canadians took nearly 900,000 fewer trips to the U.S. this March compared to last year, a drop of almost 20 per cent. The same month, Air Canada reported that transborder flight bookings were down 10 per cent year over year for the months of April to September. The U.S. Travel Association estimated that even a 10 per cent reduction in Canadian visitors could result in US$2.1 billion in lost spending and 14,000 lost jobs. We won’t be able to assess the full impact of the travel boycott until the end of the year, but given that Canada is the top source of international travellers to the States, it’s sure to make a big dent, especially in border cities like Detroit and Buffalo—both popular weekend road-trip destinations for GTA-dwellers.

Our homegrown tourism sector builds itself........

© Macleans