BURST
Some businesses that rely heavily on foreign tourists say they’ve noticed a decrease in Americans visiting, says the general manager of Granville Island’s Creekhouse Industries, which operates four buildings and sublets to 40 retail tenants.
“In talking to my tenants and to some of the restaurants, they’ve noticed a drop-off in the number of American tourists,” David McCann said. “And I don’t think that’s going to improve.”
Because the tourist season won’t swing into high gear until July and August, there are no official numbers.
“But I’ve not heard anybody here say it was a normal June,” McCann said.
Those sentiments are backed up by the latest figures from Statistics Canada: U.S. residents took 1.3 million trips to Canada in April, down 8.9 per cent from April 2024, and representing 76.7 per cent of all non-resident trips to Canada in April 2025.
Perhaps things will pick up come Canada Day and beyond: A study done at the end of May by Destination B.C. showed the visitor outlook in B.C. through the summer is bright, spokeswoman Laura Simpson said.
Data-sharing agreements limit the Crown tourism-marketing corporation from providing specific numbers, she said.
“But we continue to see strong growth in U.S. air bookings … to August 2025, compared to the same period last year,” Simpson said. “B.C. is seeing a robust increase in domestic air bookings for this summer, outpacing the same period last year.”
Flights from the U.S. continue to increase in volume for the summer, adds Destination B.C.
“Accommodation bookings are holding steady year over year for the summer, with early bookings suggesting a stronger season in some areas of B.C.”
Collaborating with its federal big brother, Destination Canada, Destination B.C. records traveller sentiment in Canada and the U.S. every month.
“Currently, we are seeing a steady growth in U.S. bookings to Canada, alongside a decrease in Canadian travel to the U.S.,” Simpson said.
The strong U.S. dollar against the loonie is also a factor, she said, and there are indications that American travellers to B.C. may opt for more frequent or longer stays.
It’s also expected that the exchange rate and cross-border concerns will boost the number of Canadians visiting B.C. this summer, “enhancing demand for locally sourced products, benefiting sectors such as agri-tourism, culinary tourism and Indigenous tourism,” Simpson said.
Destination B.C. has specific marketing strategies aimed at Americans, letting them know they’re welcome in the province.
“Our American neighbours have long played a vital role in B.C.’s tourism economy, and we continue to extend a warm invitation for them to experience all that our province has to offer,” the corporation says under its “ TARIFFS Tourism Impacts/Visitation ” strategy. “We want to assure you that B.C. is a welcoming destination for visitors from all over the world, including our friends, family and neighbours from the United States.
“We believe that travel has the power to connect, inspire and uplift, and we are committed to ensuring that B.C. remains a place where everyone feels welcome and included.”
Focusing on Metro Vancouver, overnight stays from the U.S., after a strong start to 2025 in January, have declined since, resulting in a modest 1.6 per cent growth in U.S. visitors in the first quarter of the year.
“That said, U.S. visitation remained strong, with more than 500,000 overnight visitors,” Suzanne Walters of Destination Vancouver said. “However, U.S. visitation dropped by eight per cent in March compared to last year.”
In 2024, travel from the U.S. represented 23 per cent of total visits to Vancouver, and 28 per cent of spending,” she said.
“Looking ahead, forward air bookings from the U.S. suggest a solid summer season followed by a year-over-year drop in the fall and winter.”
Current research, which is continuing so there are only preliminary results, shows U.S. cruise-ship customers helping bolster Vancouver tourism, with more than half of Alaska cruise passengers so far this year coming from the U.S.
Projected air travel between the U.S. and the Vancouver International Airport is up about three per cent this summer, after a decline over 2024 for the first five months of this year.
As well, Destination Vancouver has noted an increase in last-minute bookings, alongside a drop in bookings with lead times of 90 days or more.
“This may suggest that travellers are looking for deals and/or perhaps are hesitant due to the current economic and political climate, and are waiting to see how things turn out before booking last-minute,” Walters said.
Back on Granville Island, Ken Uehara, manager of sales and marketing at Vancouver Water Adventures , said the border war of words hasn’t had an impact, at least yet.
Water Adventures, a family run firm that started out 19 years ago with two jet skis and now has a fleet of 50, plus three touring zodiacs and scores of kayaks and paddleboards, enjoyed a good June thanks to clement weather.
“I think at first, the whole political situation was a little bit more shocking,” Uehara said, referring to when U.S. President Donald Trump first threatened Canada with tariffs. “But right now we’re seeing a lot of people coming from the U.S.”
He didn’t have exact numbers on hand, but he said Americans are a significant percentage of the company’s business.
Those Americans who do visit, meanwhile, can sound downright Canadian themselves, Creekhouse’s McCann said.
“I talk with my tenants every day,” he said. “They’re saying the Americans who do come up here are saying they’re ‘sorry.'”