As long as Matt Levy performs in New York City Spread Love Tours, he was always able to rely on Canadians to do business.
“I can tell you 30 to 50 percent of the tours that my company for Canadian high school groups gives,” said Levy recently, shortly before she gave a group from Georgia a group.
Spread Love Tours NYC, which has been in business for more than two decades, brings visitors to all important sights. Levy, who does many of the tours himself, took thousands of Canadians in the city that he loves.
But this year he said he had hardly any Canadian bookings.
“My company broke out 35,000 US dollars exclusively from Canadian high school children who came to New York City for their class trip,” he said of his income from 2024. This year it is 5,000 US dollars, with cancellations taking place every week.
Levy said his Canadian customers explicitly say why they cancel, but he has put together two and two.
“I know why and it is because my president threatens to annex her country.”
President Donald Trump initially made the proposal that Canada should be the 51st state in December after his election victory in November. Since then, he has repeated the proposal many times, together with the broadcast of complaints about trade relationships and border security in the United States.
This is in addition to a historical tariff policy against Canada and the rest of the world.
The impact on tourism became quick and angry, with Canadians made public explanations about the cancellation of their US holidays or refused to visit their southern neighbors as a whole.
Cancelled trips
In the past few months, Canadian airlines have reduced or canceled the flights due to a decline in demand.
The land limit crossings between Canada and the USA have also dropped considerably. According to the US customs and border protection, March showed almost a million fewer travelers compared to the same period of the previous year.
“I don’t accuse you. I wouldn’t come to my country either if I were in your situation,” said Levy.
Companies in Wildwood, New Jersey, share concerns about Canada’s sudden change of heart when traveling to the USA. The Jersey Shore Beach Town is a Canadian favorite, and some pull out all stops to make sure they return this summer.
He describes the loss of business as heartbreaking and affects anyone who works for his company.
He is not the only one who feels the sudden freezing of Canadian tourists. There is fear and concern in the entire US tourism industry.
According to the US Travel Association, Canada was the largest source for international visitors in the United States in 2024. He brought 20 billion US dollars in the United States and supported 140,000 jobs.
“We love you.”
In popular destinations such as Palm Springs, California, the city government has started to install banners on street lamps with the inscription Palm Springs.
Other states such as Florida and Arizona, in which Canadians are a first -class source for tourism income, grant the alarm.
Mike Huckins from the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce recently told Media Outlet Arizona family: “We have a lot of snow birds that come from Canada for a long time. Arizona is somehow famous for it.
In Wildwood, New Jersey, a Jersey Shore Stadtstadt, in which Canadians are so omnipresent in the summer months, there are also hotels with names such as the Quebec Motel and the Royal Canadian.
John Donio, President of the Wildwood Business Improvement District, is happy not to give no wave of cancellations in the past few months. But there are enough concerns that he is working on new messages with his business owners.
“We just want our friends to know in the north that we love us here in New Jersey, in the Wildwoods,” he said. “You are always welcome here … and we know that without our Canadian friends in the Wildwoods it is simply not the same.”
An experienced New York tour guide feels like collateral damage in the increasing tensions between Canada and the United States. Matt Levy of Spread Love Tours says that President Trump’s guidelines that affect Canada had brutal impact on his business.
Michael Bolero, General Manager at The Bolero, a resort in Wildwood, received an informative call from a guest with a summer booking. She wanted to know the resort’s cancellation fee if President Trump escalates the tensions with Canada.
“Unfortunately we said that there are no free cancellations about geopolitical questions,” said Bolero.
“It’s a big family and we have to solve them.”
Canadian visitors have been guests in the Quebec Motel for decades, so that the original owner was named in Canada after his time.
Lester Katsanis, the current owner of the Motel, is very aware of the special relationship between Wildwood and its Canadian visitors. He can remember families who returned the summer after summer – their children grow and finally return with their own children.
He is optimistic that Wildwood’s relationship with the Canadians will survive the disabled state of Canada-USA.
“It is a big family and we have to solve them,” he said, referring to the long -term bond between Canada and the USA. “We love you.”
The Canadian trips to the United States have dropped when the trade war escalated between the two countries. But how much blow is that for the US economy? Also why Canada decided that more politicians need it.
Levy also tries to remain optimistic, even if the Canadians decide on their travel plans politics.
“I know that Canadians have a long memory and not easily forgive. I think that New York is very different and very separate from American politics and identity. And I think the Canadians will soon return to New York.”
