U.S. Destinations Offer Canadians Discounts Amid Trump's Tariff Dispute

Across the United States, tourism boards, hotel chains and even individual casino owners are rolling out steep discounts, currency perks and "welcome back" campaigns aimed squarely at Canadian travelers. The push comes as a prolonged trade dispute between Washington and Ottawa has kept millions of would-be Canadian visitors at home, draining billions from border towns, ski resorts and big-name destinations alike.

Why Canadians Stopped Coming in the First Place

The chill began in early 2025 when President Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian goods and floated the idea of Canada becoming the 51st state, comments that landed badly north of the border. Canadians looked for ways to respond to U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to impose tariffs and make Canada a 51st state, including by cancelling planned travel to the United States. [1] A travel agent in Saskatchewan summed up the mood at the time, noting that clients with bookings in California, Florida or Texas were suddenly asking about switching to Mexico instead.

The sentiment hardened quickly and did not fade the way many boycotts eventually do. Unlike most travel boycotts, which tend to fizzle out over time, the Canadian effort has not lost momentum. [2] By early 2026, a Politico poll of 2,000 Canadian adults conducted in February found 58% believed the U.S. was not a reliable ally, and nearly 80% said Trump has made the relationship between Canada and the U.S. weaker. [3]

The Scale of the Financial Damage

The numbers behind this shift are staggering for an industry that once counted on Canada as its single biggest source of international visitors. Canadians traditionally make up the largest group of international tourists to the U.S., totalling 28 per cent of its [4] foreign visitor base, which is precisely why their absence has been so painful. Given that Canadian tourists spent $20.5 billion in the U.S. in 2024, a 22% decline in visitation in 2025 translates to an economic hit of roughly $4.5 billion. [2]

Government data backs up the industry estimates. According to an Economic and Social report by the Government of Canada, travel spending on visits to the United States declined by $3.3 billion to total $18.8 billion in 2025. [5] Trip volumes tell a similarly stark story, as Canada registered 7.1 million fewer trips to the U.S. compared to 2024 [6] , a decline that industry watchers describe as unprecedented outside of the pandemic or the aftermath of September 11.

Las Vegas Bets on a Currency Gimmick That Actually Worked

Perhaps the boldest response came from downtown Las Vegas, where three Fremont Street properties decided to tackle the exchange rate problem head-on. Circa Resort & Casino said its three downtown Las Vegas hotels, including the D Las Vegas and Golden Gate Hotel & Casino, will offer the "at par" deal to eligible Canadians ahead of peak summer travel through Aug. 31. [7] Under the arrangement, eligible Canadian guests receive $1 USD in value for every $1 CAD spent, regardless of daily exchange rates. [8]

The gamble paid off in a big way. By treating $1 CAD as $1 USD, the offer welcomed more than 120,000 Canadian visitors, driving an 80 percent increase in Canadian visitation, more than $20 million in slot coin-in and over 8,000 hotel room nights. [9] Circa's owner framed it as more than a marketing stunt, saying he wanted to invite Canada back to Las Vegas and remove the friction of currency math at the cashier's cage.

New York Turns an Entire State Into One Big Promotion

New York took a broader, statewide approach after watching its Canadian numbers collapse. The campaign follows a steep drop in cross-border travel in 2025, when Canadian visitation to New York State fell by more than 26%, and spending by Canadian travelers also dropped 28% compared to 2024. [10] In response, Governor Kathy Hochul announced the "NY Loves Canada" initiative in August 2026, gathering discounts from hundreds of independent businesses onto one official page.

The program is not a single coupon but a curated marketplace of offers. NY Loves Canada is not a single, uniform discount. It is a state-curated marketplace of offers from participating hotels, attractions, restaurants and other tourism businesses, each setting its own promotion and expiry date. [11] Many of those deals run through December [12] , while New York City layered on its own separate Northern Neighbour Deal covering hotels, dining and even Broadway shows.

Small Mountain Towns Join the Fight, Too

It is not only major cities pulling out the stops. Kalispell, Montana, a ski and outdoor destination roughly five hours south of Calgary, launched its own grassroots effort after watching its Canadian traffic evaporate. Discover Kalispell unveiled its Kalispell Canadian Welcome Pass, which includes 15 businesses and a mix of deals on lodging, retail, dining and museums. [13] The organization's executive director put it simply, saying that the message is that we see you and we miss you, according to reporting on the campaign.

The scale of the local hit made the gesture feel necessary rather than optional. Kalispell's tourism organization collected data showing border crossings had dropped between 15 and 25 per cent, and credit card spending from international visitors was down by 39 per cent. [14] A Vancouver-based travel consultant noted that similar outreach has been happening well beyond Montana, pointing to extensive outreach from Seattle and King County, and central and eastern Washington, especially the wine regions in eastern Washington, with a push to get Canadians to come back down. [14]

Florida and the Sunbelt Feel the Pinch Too

Florida, long a winter magnet for Canadian snowbirds, has not escaped the downturn despite its warm-weather appeal. The Sunshine State saw 7% fewer Canadian tourists in 2025 than the year prior, according to Visit Florida. [12] Industry watchers remain cautiously optimistic, though far from certain the worst is over.

Longwoods International's president and CEO captured that uncertainty well, telling reporters that "Right now, there are some good indicators that the bleeding may have stopped," before adding a caveat: "We'll see this fall if the new tariffs have a negative impact." [12] That caution proved warranted, since renewed friction over tariffs in the summer of 2026 threatened to undo months of slow recovery just as destinations were starting to see modest gains.

Palm Springs and California's Early Outreach

California was among the very first states to respond, launching its charm offensive back in 2025 when the boycott first took hold. The state of California responded to the boycott by launching a tourism campaign encouraging Canadians to visit it; the city of Palm Springs put up signs across its downtown reading "Palm Springs Loves Canada," with the mayor noting that Canadians spend $300 million a year in the region. [15]

That early, visible gesture set the tone for what would become a much broader national pattern of destinations publicly courting Canadian goodwill rather than staying quiet about the losses. It also underscored how economically significant the Canadian market has long been for specific regional economies, not just for national tourism totals.

A Second Wave of Tension Threatens the Recovery

Just as some destinations began reporting modest upticks, the trade relationship deteriorated again. Canadian trips to the U.S. saw a total of 2.3 million trips in June 2025, representing the third consecutive month of growth following 15 consecutive months of year-over-year decreases. [5] That fragile recovery was jeopardized when trade talks broke down once more in the summer of 2026.

The renewed dispute escalated sharply. The United States imposed 50% tariffs on a broad range of Canadian goods that took effect August 22, 2026, impacting products including dairy, alcohol, and a wide range of items across numerous industries, and notably these tariffs apply even to CUSMA-compliant goods and have no expiry date. [16] Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney publicly acknowledged the talks had stalled, saying "progress has not been enough to meet our objectives for Canadians." [5]

Where Things Stand Heading Into Late 2026

Despite the renewed tension, discounts have kept flowing and destinations have largely doubled down rather than pulled back. Canadian visitation to the U.S. in early 2026 remained at levels similar to late 2025, "signaling a persistent shift away from the United States by Canadian residents in their travel preferences," according to industry tracking. [12] A tracking study cited by Forbes found that a slight majority (51%) of Canadians had no intention to travel to the U.S. in the next year [12] , even before the newest round of tariffs was announced.

Meanwhile, Canadians have simply redirected their travel dollars elsewhere, both at home and abroad. Statistics Canada reported that domestic tourism expenditure reached C$81.3 billion in 2025, an increase of 8.7% from 2024, with Canadians making approximately 342 million domestic visits in that year. [17] Whether the wave of American discounts can meaningfully reverse that trend likely depends less on hotel promo codes and more on whether Ottawa and Washington can actually settle their trade dispute.

The Bottom Line for Travelers and Destinations

For Canadians who do decide to head south, this is arguably one of the best moments in years to find genuine value, from at-par currency exchanges in Las Vegas to statewide discount marketplaces in New York and small-town welcome passes in Montana. These campaigns are not just marketing fluff; they represent real money left on the table by destinations that badly want their biggest international customer base back.

Still, the deeper issue remains political rather than promotional. No discount, however generous, fully offsets the sting many Canadians feel over tariffs and statehood rhetoric, and until that underlying relationship stabilizes, hotel deals and currency perks may only soften the edges of a much larger rift. For now, the welcome mats are out, even if it is unclear how many Canadians are ready to step on them again.