Trump’s tariff war with Canada cuts into Upstate NY’s tourism economy

Syracuse, N.Y. – Upstate New York tourism officials are seeing signs that Canadians angered by President Donald Trump’s tariff war and his talk of turning their country into the “51st state” will stay away from the Empire State this summer.

One million Canadians crossed the northern border into the state in March, nearly a third fewer than the 1.4 million that entered New York in the same month last year, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. In February, Canadian visitation to New York was down 17% compared with the same month in 2024.

Across Upstate, tourism officials are receiving fewer travel inquiries from Canadians. The few messages they are getting from Canadians have been negative, tourism officials told syracuse.com | The Post-Standard.

As a result, tourism bureaus across the state are redirecting their marketing dollars from Canada to domestic markets in hopes of making up for the loss of visitors from up north.

The summer travel season isn’t in full swing yet, but the trend has tourism officials in New York worried.

Danny Liedka, president and CEO of Visit Syracuse, said about 10% to 15% of the tourism dollars spent in the Syracuse area annually come from Canadian visitors.

That’s around $120 million a year spent shopping and dining, enjoying the arts, and attending sporting, concerts and other events.

“That’s very significant,” he said.

But he said he expects that spending to fall this year. He’s not sure by how much yet, but web traffic from Canadians checking out the Visit Syracuse site is down 50% this year, a bad omen, he said.

As a result, Liedka said Visit Syracuse is pausing its digital, print, TV and social media marketing in Canada and redirecting its efforts to other markets, such as New York City and Philadelphia.

“We can’t just sit idle,” he said. “We’re looking to increase visitation from other markets.”

According to a survey by Longwoods International, 60% of Canadians say current U.S policies, trade practices and political statements make them less likely to travel to the U.S. in the next 12 months. And 36% of them had planned to travel to the U.S. in the next year but have since canceled those plans.

“The U.S. tourism industry may not be front of mind in the current policy debates about the impact of tariffs and trade policy, but this new research demonstrates that the health of America’s hospitality industry is also vulnerable because of America’s current reputational risk globally,” said Longwoods President and CEO Amir Eylon said.

Other regions across Upstate are seeing those feelings play out.

Canadians love site-seeing and going on winery tours in New York’s Finger Lakes region. But tourism officials in the region are worried Canadians will be loving it a little less this summer.

Jason Jordan, director of marketing for the Finger Lakes Tourism Alliance, said the organization sends out monthly emails to 70,000 people. Recently, they have been receiving replies from Canadians saying they will not be visiting the region this year, he said.

“We’ve heard people cite the tariffs and the 51st state comments,” he said.

It’s not clear what impact that will have on Finger Lakes tourism overall because some Canadians undoubtedly will not let Trump’s actions sway their travel plans, he said.

“Travel is very much connected to how people feel generally,” he said. “If they get to travel, they feel good about life.”

In the meantime, though, the alliance is pushing its usual Canadian marketing to later in the year because it is not sure how effective its marketing dollars would be in Canada right now.

“It might take rebuilding some bridges,” he said.

Like Visit Syracuse, the alliance is hoping to lure more domestic tourists, aiming for visitors from cities such as New York City, Boston, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia to make up for any loss of Canadian tourists, he said.

“We’re in a sweet spot,” said Jordan. “We’re within driving distance of a huge part of the East Coast population.”

Up to 40% of the tourists that come to the Buffalo-Niagara Falls area are Canadian, with many attracted to the region’s sporting events, culture, shopping, theaters and outdoor attractions.

But Patrick Kaler, president and CEO of Visit Buffalo Niagara, said the region saw a 17% drop in March, compared with the same month last year, of Canadians coming across the area’s four international bridges, signaling a loss in Canadian tourism dollars for local businesses.

And Kaler knows why because Canadians haven’t been shy about telling him.

“When all the tariff talk started in February, we were in the middle of a digital and social media campaign in Canada and we were inundated with comments, so we had to take it down,” he said.

“They said things like, ‘We love Buffalo and the U.S., but we can’t come right now. We’ll see you in four years.’”

Kaler said he understands Canadians’ anger.

“Their sovereignty is very important to them, just like it would be for us,” he said.

Visit Buffalo Niagara not only has paused its digital marketing efforts in Canada, it also has stopped offering to host Canadian travel writers after being informed they have no plans to write about U.S. destinations any time soon, he said.

Kaler said the visitors bureau will restart its Canadian marketing efforts “when the time is right.” In the meantime, it is redirecting its marketing dollars to domestic markets, even as far away as Boston and Washington, D.C., he said.

The U.S. side of the 1000 Islands region is a popular summer day trip for many Canadians. But Corey Fram, director of the 1000 Islands International Tourism Council in Alexandria Bay, said he’s been receiving negative feedback from Canadians angered by Trump’s statements about making Canada part of the U.S.

“It’s not about the tariffs,” he said. “It’s really that sovereignty rhetoric.”

While the council has no plans to put its Canadian marketing on hold, it has changed the message a little. It’s currently running ads in Canada with a photo of the 1000 Islands and the words “Where we’ve always met in the middle.”

“We’re not going say, ‘Don’t blame us,’” Fram said. “But we can say we’re different here because we are a shared destination. We’ve always met in the middle.”

Rick Moriarty covers business news and consumer issues. Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact him anytime: Email | X | Facebook | 315-470-3148