More Mexicans Choosing to Travel to Canada Over the United States for Vacation Alexandra Talty - Forbes
go to original March 30, 2017

Mexican tourist Borris Frias takes a picture of his travel partners Noe Montano, left, and Erick Ruiz as they visit Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada. (The Canadian PressSean Kilpatrick)

The American tourism industry could be facing a new phenomena: waning interest in the traveling to the United States.

After decades of sitting pretty as a bucket list destination, the stars and stripes might be on their way out. Experts warn that anti-immigration rhetoric as well as confusing travel and electronic bans have dampened foreign interest in U.S. vacations, especially from Mexico.

"We have Twitter wars with our President and former President of Mexico… There is lots of speculation in the media about a trade war with Mexico," says Douglas Quimby, of Phocuswright, a travel research firm. "If that happens, what kind of impact does that have on millions of middle class Mexicans looking to take a trip?"



Mexican sentiment for the U.S. has been lagging since the primary elections when then-incumbent Donald Trump claimed that Mexican immigrants were rapists and drug dealers. There were reports of Trump piñatas, angry newspaper op-eds and anti-Trump murals. During the presidential debate, Mexicans held drinking games, knocking one back every time their country was mentioned.

At the same time, Canada has made it easier than ever to visit. In June 2016, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced visa-free travel for Mexicans. Since the policy was first announced, Mexican tourism to Canada has been skyrocketing, increasing 16%, according to ForwardKeys, a travel trend predicting firm.

When visa-free travel was enacted in December, Mexican visitors increased 82%, a "dramatic response" that FowardKeys attributes to the changes in the law. At the same time, the firm says that bookings to the U.S. have been down 9 percent, despite the dollar weakening against the Mexican peso, which usually drives tourism. Overall, the long-term economic impact could be staggering.

Read the rest at Forbes

Related: Trump's Travel Ban Could Cost $18 Billion in U.S. Tourism, Analysis Shows (USA Today)

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