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US destinations are rolling out discounts, Canadian-dollar deals and a fresh round of travel trade engagement as they try to repair one of the sharpest setbacks in the country’s inbound tourism market: the retreat of Canadian travellers. The decline accelerated after President Donald Trump returned to office and repeatedly suggested Canada could become the 51st US state, rhetoric that landed alongside a broader trade dispute between the neighbours. For tourism businesses, the political fallout has become a commercial issue. Canadians have traditionally been the United States’ largest source of international visitors, particularly important to border states, Florida, California, Nevada and major city destinations.
The numbers show how quickly behaviour changed. Statistics Canada reported that Canadian-resident return trips from the United States fell 25.4% in 2025 from the previous year. Canadians had made about 39 million such trips in 2024.
The weakness carried into 2026. During the first quarter, Canadian residents made 5.5 million trips involving a US visit, down 10.6% year on year. Their spending in the country fell even faster, dropping 13.6% to C$5 billion.
There are tentative signs that the market may be finding a floor. Canadian travel to the US increased year on year in August, but remained roughly 27% below August 2024 levels. For US tourism operators, that gap represents business that has not simply been deferred — some of it is moving elsewhere.
Discounts replace the usual destination pitch
The response from US destinations has become increasingly tactical. Tourism organisations have stepped up advertising in Canada while hotels, restaurants and attractions are using discounts to give travellers a financial reason to reconsider a US trip.
New York State has been among the most visible, launching its “NY Loves Canada” campaign. New York City followed with its “Northern Neighbour Deal”, bringing participating hotels and tourism businesses together around discounts of up to 30%. The urgency is understandable. New York City expects about 820,000 Canadian visitors in 2026, according to Global News, compared with roughly one million annually before the pandemic.
Vermont, where Canadian drive traffic has long been woven into the visitor economy, has taken a similar route with its “100% Love for Canada” initiative. Participating businesses are offering discounts that can reach 50%. Las Vegas is attacking another obstacle: the exchange rate. Some downtown businesses have introduced “Vegas on Par” promotions, giving eligible Canadians US$1 of value for C$1 on selected accommodation, dining and beverage purchases.
That matters when a weaker Canadian dollar can turn an otherwise competitive hotel rate into a significantly more expensive trip.
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Travel trade becomes part of the recovery strategy
Price promotions alone are unlikely to rebuild the market, and US tourism bodies are increasingly looking upstream to travel advisers, tour operators and airline partners. Brand USA is taking its Travel Week platform to Canada for the first time in October, with events in Toronto and Montreal. The programme expands on its previous Canada Connect initiative and gives US destinations direct access to Canadian travel sellers.
Las Vegas tourism officials have also taken their message into Canada, meeting travel industry partners rather than relying solely on consumer advertising.
“We’re here to make sure you know that we care about Canada,” Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority president and CEO Steve Hill said during an industry visit to Vancouver, according to the Associated Press.
For the B2B market, that approach could prove more consequential than another advertising campaign. Travel advisers and operators can package accommodation, attractions and air capacity around value, while giving US destinations a distribution channel to travellers who may need more persuading than they did two years ago.
The bigger risk: Canadians develop new travel habits
The difficulty for the US industry is that Canadian travel demand has not disappeared. It has shifted. Statistics Canada data show Canadians increasingly choosing destinations beyond the United States. The Washington Post reported that Canadian trips to Asia rose 16.7% in 2025, while travel to Europe increased 13.6%. That is the longer-term concern for US destinations. A Canadian family that replaces Florida with Mexico or Europe for one holiday may return when political tensions ease. A traveller who discovers a preferred alternative — and establishes a new booking habit — may not.
The tourism industry can work on price, packaging and the welcome. It cannot control Washington. That leaves US destination marketers with an unusual recovery challenge. They are not trying to rebuild demand after a recession, pandemic or loss of air capacity. They are trying to repair a travel relationship shaped partly by politics, while competing destinations are ready to capture the spending that crosses another border instead.
