U.S.-Canada travel is down following President Trump's remarks about making the country the 51st U.S. state and announcements of tariffs. The USTOA and Canadian Association of Tour Operators (CATO), along with the Adventure Travel Trade Association, National Tour Association and others, have formed a coalition with a goal of promoting tourism between the countries. The coalition says foreign tourist spending in the U.S. is expected to fall by 11%, representing an $18 billion loss in 2025, while Canada could experience modest losses. USTOA president and CEO Terry Dale spoke with tours editor Brinley Hineman about the coalition, its goals and what the travel industry should prepare for.
Terry Dale
Q: How did this coalition form?
A: USTOA and our sister association, CATO, have had a long history of working together, so when we started seeing this percolating with the tariffs and we were in conversation with each other, we quickly, after one call, said, "You know, we need to expand this beyond USTOA and CATO." From that point, I personally reached out to all the other associations on the list and said, "Please raise your hand if you've got interest in working with us on this initiative." It didn't take two hours, and everyone said, "We're in." ... There's clearly a sense of urgency for all of us around this issue.
Q: What are the coalition's goals?
A: First of all, recognize the economic impact that our industry has on local communities, and when you see a drop in Canadian travelers, that directly impacts neighborhoods, infrastructure, jobs, taxes generated. We want to try and preserve the economic impact that we have. Second, we understand cultural exchanges between our countries are so critical, and especially with indigenous communities. We've done a lot to build up those experiences, and we hate to see them adversely impacted. Another goal is reaching and communicating with our legislators, our elected officials, our regulators.
Q: What concerns are you hearing?
A: We heard very early on from our Canadian friends that calls to call centers of our members were softening and then dropping rather dramatically. And there were also calls about, "Well, will I be welcome?" So I started hearing that early on in this process, and my colleagues and other associations were experiencing the same.
There's a dramatic decline [in Canadian visitors to the U.S.], and there's a sense that we need to extend ourselves to our Canadian friends and say, "You are still welcome. We understand your concern. We're doing everything we can to address this situation that we're all confronting right now."
Q: Given the charged political climate, how will the coalition manage international relationships and promote tourism?
A: I think it all goes back to advocacy. We all have relationships with our elected officials and regulatory bodies, and we all need to do everything we can to make sure they understand what's happening to industry and the potential harm to not only the U.S. economy but the global economy. It's really about advocacy and being united as we deliver the message.
Q: The coalition's statement said the U.S. could see an $18 billion loss. Have you seen something posing such a risk to U.S. tourism before?
A: If we look at Covid, if we look at Sept. 11 -- obviously [the impact there was] severe. But certainly, this is posing a real, real, pressing concern for everyone.