Canadian Travel to the U.S. Grew for a 5th Month Despite Trade War — Still Down 27% From 2024
Skift Take
Many thought rising political tensions would mean fewer trips — the national data says otherwise. But not every state is seeing the same rebound.
U.S. travel executives were worried an escalating trade war with Canada would cool the budding rebound in travel by Canadians.
But travel jumped 8.8% in August, according to figures released Friday by Statistics Canada, which measures return trips from the U.S. by Canadian-residents. It was the fifth straight month of year-over-year growth. Return trips by automobile and by air both registered increases — 9.9% and 3.6%, respectively.
Canadian travel to the U.S. still has a long way to fully recover to 2024 levels. Statistics Canada reported that return trips by automobile last month were 27.4% lower than two years ago, and return trips by air were down 22.7%.
The agency has said, in recent months, that the recent gains were due to a “base-year effect,” as visits had dropped so much that current increases are bouncing off a low base.
“Starting in early 2025, travel trends among Canadian residents shifted alongside the political te