A Palm Beach tourism group will be in Toronto next week to meet with members of Canada’s tourism industry as droves of Canadians cancel trips to the U.S. in the face of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The escalating trade war has sent ripples throughout both economies on either side of the border, including threatening the U.S. tourism industry that has long relied on Canadian travellers.
In recent weeks, airlines and travel companies have seen U.S. bookings plummet as Canadians look to travel anywhere but stateside.
“Canadians have been part of our success in the past,” said Milton Segarra, CEO of Discover the Palm Beaches. “We want to make sure that we are there at the moment thanking you for the support we have received and together look for opportunities to maintain the level of travel that we have experienced.”
According to Segarra, Canadians are by far the largest group of international visitors to the Palm Beaches each year, with up to 400,000 coming to the region and contributing $500 million to the local economy. Looking at the U.S. tourism industry as a whole, Canadians accounted for 11 per cent of total international inbound travel and spent $20.5 billion in 2024, according to the U.S. Travel Association.
While the meeting next week with travel agents, tour operators, airlines and others was scheduled back in October, Segarra said it has taken on new meaning amid the tariffs, describing it as “an important meeting for us.” He said the meeting has two goals: to thank Canadians for their support over the years and to find a way to continue working together.
“There is a sentiment from the Canadian people, we understand that,” Segarra continued, “But we know at some point business will resume at a level, and we need to be prepared.”
The Palm Beaches hasn’t seen a significant impact yet from the tariffs — Segarra said most of the region’s annual Canadian visitors were already in Florida when the trade war started — but there is concern about what the souring relationship between Canada and the U.S. could mean for next year’s season.
“We want to make sure we’re prepared, and this is one of the reasons why we want to start the conversations as soon as possible.”
Segarra’s group is not the only U.S. tourism agency heading north as the prospect of losing Canadian travellers, and the dollars they bring, looms heavy.
The New York state tourism board was in Canada earlier this week, again for a meeting scheduled last year but that has taken on a new tenor amid the trade war, Corey Fram, director of tourism of the U.S.-based 1,000 Islands International Tourism Council, said. Fram’s own group is also planning on meeting with travel journalists in Canada at some point this spring.
“Not even necessarily to pitch them a story on why they should visit,” Fram said, “But just to spend time with them to let them know that we understand their frustration.”
Like the Palm Beaches, Fram said the New York-side of the 1,000 Islands region is heavily dependent on Canadian travellers, who contribute between 11 and 16 per cent of all visitor spending throughout the year.
“To lose a percentage of that due to all of the international stress between the two countries is going to be in the millions of dollars,” Fram said, “And that’s quite significant for a rural New York state region that relies on the tourism and travel sector as much as ours does.”
Along with trade missions — a term both Segarra and Fram used to describe their respective trips to Canada — U.S. travel agencies from the Palm Beaches, New York and California told the Star they were stepping up their advertising to keep Canadians visiting.
Segarra said this involves listening to “the sentiment from Canadian travellers,” while Fram said his agency has removed any American landmarks from its promotional materials.
“We’re just being a little bit more careful in some of the imagery and the messaging we use,” Fram explained.
The changes might be fruitless, however, with Amra Durakovic, head of communications for travel group Flight Centre Canada, telling the Star the agency has seen a 40 per cent drop in bookings and 20 per cent cancellation rate for U.S. trips.
“While Canadians remain eager to travel,” she said, “they are increasingly shifting their focus to destinations outside the U.S.”
Despite the growing anti-U.S. sentiments, Segarra remains optimistic that Canadians will continue to visit the Palm Beaches. Fram is less hopeful, however, that the U.S. will see the same number of Canadians coming back, even if the trade war is resolved.
“It’s probably going to take us a while to get back to where we were in the summer of 2024,” Fram said, “If we ever do.”
