Nearly 3.6 million fewer Canadian travellers visited New York last year, report says

Amid high tariffs and annexation threats last year, Canadian travellers boycotted New York in droves, a report from the state comptroller indicates. Between 2024 and 2025, almost 3.6 million fewer travellers from Canada and 4.2 million from Mexico visited New York, a decline of more than 21 per cent and 2.2 per cent, respectively.

The decline has been “particularly detrimental” to New York border towns, the April 2 report says. Exports to Canada, New York’s largest trading partner, also fell $3.8 billion due to tariffs.

“Federal policies are driving foreign travellers away and taking billions in tourism spending and harming our economy as exports substantially decline,” N.Y. Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said in a media release. “That loss of revenue means fewer jobs in New York and tougher times for those working in the tourism industry.”

Travel-related employment declined in regions near the Canadian border. From January through September 2025, North Country in upstate New York, a rural retreat for many Canadians, saw the largest decline in travel-related employment, at 1.9 per cent. Job losses in Western New York hit 656 during the same period.

While tourism related spending was flat in 2025, hotel occupancy was down 1.2 per cent across the state. Overseas arrivals declined by 3 per cent, behind only California. The decrease nationally was 2.5 per cent.

The downturn also affected tourism hotspots. National park visits declined by 18.2 per cent in 2025. Notably, the Statue of Liberty saw 183,000 fewer visitors through October 2025. Visitors to state parks decreased by 2.3 million (2.6 per cent). Niagara Reservation, which includes Niagara Falls, accounted for the largest drop, by 6.4 per cent, or about 610,000 visitors.

Meanwhile, exports to nearly half of New York’s trade partners also declined as a result of federal trade policy changes. Exports were down across nearly two-thirds of product categories. Trade with Canada, its largest trading partner, decreased by $3.8 billion. Imports from Canada also declined significantly (7 per cent). Imports from China, a major trading partner, dropped by 29.7 per cent.

Tourists would continue to be deterred unless the U.S. committed to welcoming them, DiNapli cautioned. “We’re already seeing the consequences, especially in hotels and restaurants in those regions near the Canadian border,” he wrote, adding: “New York is a top destination for tourists to the U.S., and policies that welcome and encourage international travel are needed to avoid damaging economic consequences.”

StatCan data released in March suggests that Canadians are continuing to snub America. Return trips from the U.S. by Canadian residents fell 31.5 per cent between February 2026 and February 2024.

• New bill in U.S. Congress aims to boost sagging tourism by strengthening trade ties with Canada and Mexico
• Fewer Canadians are crossing the border — and duty-free shops are paying the price

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