US To Lose $21 Billion In Travel-Related Exports As Canadian Tourist Boycott Threatens 140,000 Thousand Jobs: Report

Canadians are boycotting the United States as a tourist destination in record numbers, new data shows.

What Happened: According to Statistics Canada, car travel by Canadians into the U.S. fell 38% in May compared to the same time last year, while air travel dropped 24%. Forbes notes that this marks the fifth straight month of steep year-over-year declines, on track with a trend that began earlier in 2025.

Canadian visitors historically make up around a quarter of all foreign arrivals in the US.

The U.S. Travel Association warned earlier that even a 10% fall in Canadian tourism could cost $2.1 billion and threaten 140,000 jobs in hospitality and associated sectors. With losses now exceeding those projections by two to four times, the economic fallout could be significant.

"Given trends in our pre-Inauguration forecast, we were expecting a 9% increase in international visitors this year," said Adam Sacks, president of Tourism Economics. "So the full way to appreciate the loss is relative to the growth that would have happened based on the ongoing recovery that was expected."

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Why It Matters: The U.S. is likely to face a major drop in global tourism revenue, with the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) projecting a $12.5 billion dip in international visitor spending this year.

According to the council's latest Economic Impact Research, foreign spending in the U.S. is estimated to fall to just under $169 billion in 2025, down from $181 billion in 2024

The U.S. holds the world's largest travel and tourism market, but stands out as the only country among 184 economies analyzed by WTTC and Oxford Economics forecasted to suffer a decline in international tourism spending this year.

The sharp drop in Canadian tourists originates from a boycott call issued by former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who advised citizens to avoid U.S. vacations after President Donald Trump referred to Canada as "the 51st state" and floated new tariffs.

If current trends sustain, the U.S. could lose more than $21 billion in travel-related exports by year's end.

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