Air travel between the US and Canada is set to plunge 70%, and domestic tourism has also slowed
Future bookings for flights between Canada and the U.S. have plummeted by over 70% in every month through to the end of September compared with the same time in 2024, according to OAG, a global travel data provider. In February, the number of Canadians crossing the land border into the U.S. dropped almost 500,000 compared to the same period last year, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) — reaching levels not seen since the height of the Covid-19 border closures. “This is like Covid all over again,” said Len Saunders, an immigration lawyer in Blaine, Wash., which borders the Canadian province of British Columbia, in an interview with CBC News. “With the rhetoric coming from Trump — people just don’t want to come down here.” The number of Canadian residents returning from the U.S. by flights also fell by 13.1% in February, with Air Canada, WestJet and United Airlines announcing cuts to service due to declining demand. “A 10% reduction in Canadian travel could mean 2.0m fewer visits, $2.1b in lost spending and 14,000 job losses,” according to the U.S. Travel Association, which noted that Canada is the top source of international visitors to the country, with 20.4m visits in 2024.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2025-04-07/general/air-travel-between-the-us-and-canada-is-set-to-plunge-70-and-domestic-tourism-has-also-slowed
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/logo.png
Air travel between the US and Canada is set to plunge 70%, and domestic tourism has also slowed
Future bookings for flights between Canada and the U.S. have plummeted by over 70% in every month through to the end of September compared with the same time in 2024, according to OAG, a global travel data provider. In February, the number of Canadians crossing the land border into the U.S. dropped almost 500,000 compared to the same period last year, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) — reaching levels not seen since the height of the Covid-19 border closures. “This is like Covid all over again,” said Len Saunders, an immigration lawyer in Blaine, Wash., which borders the Canadian province of British Columbia, in an interview with CBC News. “With the rhetoric coming from Trump — people just don’t want to come down here.” The number of Canadian residents returning from the U.S. by flights also fell by 13.1% in February, with Air Canada, WestJet and United Airlines announcing cuts to service due to declining demand. “A 10% reduction in Canadian travel could mean 2.0m fewer visits, $2.1b in lost spending and 14,000 job losses,” according to the U.S. Travel Association, which noted that Canada is the top source of international visitors to the country, with 20.4m visits in 2024.<br/>
