Canadians stop in California because of Donald Trump

Californian tourism could lose billions of dollars due to President Donald Trump’s policies on prices, immigration and gender identity, as well as his speech on Canada’s annexation.

Visit California, a non -profit organization that promotes tourism in the Golden State, has recently revised its overall spending forecasts for visitors for this year, from 166 billion to $ 160 billion, saying international trips to California are already starting to slow down. Canada, the second largest source of international tourist dollars for the state after Mexico, represented $ 3.7 billion on foreign travel of $ 26.5 billion introduced in the state last year, said Visit California.

It could therefore be a big problem for California that many Canadians are angry with the prices and Trump’s insistence that their country should become the 51st American state. Many refuse to buy products made in the United States and do not want to cross the border. Canada and other countries have also issued opinions to travel to the United States, warning travelers they may be detained, or because of Trump’s administration policies on transgender people, there may be complications for them depending on what sex is shown on their passports.

Carol Harris, who spoke with Calmatters from Nova Scotia, said that she and her husband visited her family in San Diego for a long time, but no more now.

“Never again, until Trump left,” said Harris, a retired university professor who said it would be a big loss. “I’m going to miss the desert,” she added. “I love the topography of California. I like California’s policy. ” However, she said that as a “categorically progressive” person, not to visit the United States is “just something we have to do”.

Charlie Angus, a member of the Parliament of Canada, recently called Trump’s rhetoric “an act of war” and urged Canadians not to go to the United States. He cited the case of a Canadian citizen with an American work visa who said she had been detained by US officials for two weeks.

“It has become clear that Donald Trump is ready to conduct the economy of his country in chaos; to tear the largest and best commercial partnership in the world; to lead the American travel industry on the ground,” said Angus at a press conference on March 20.

Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, doubled the remarks of Trump’s annexation in an e-mail answer to calmatover issues about the drop in international trips, especially Canada: “The United States is an excellent destination for international travelers, and Canadians will not be unloaded by the disadvantages of international trips when they become American citizens Cries of cries. ”.

Effect on the Californian economy

California saw an 8.8% drop in annual slip of international arrivals in February, Visit California said. If this continues, a wide slowdown in trips could harm different industries that fall under the aegis of tourism, including hospitality and restaurants – and about 3 million Californians who work there.

Lynn Mohrfeld, director general of California Hotel and Lodging Association, said that he was concerned about the possible effects on his industry, although he said that this could take some time to those who arise. He said international travelers will generally plan their trips in advance, so that they cannot cancel their plans even if they could worry about visiting the United States because of this, he said that he expects the summer trips to be strong.

He clings to short -term optimism, but Mohrfeld said: “We have all heard the nationalist stuff leaving Canada, and we are part of these prices. We do not know if we go and go … so we would certainly like coherence and stability on this rhetoric. ”

Large -scale prices imposed by the president last week on almost all countries alarmed economists, which warn a recession and have turned the stock markets.

Prices could lead to higher prices everywhere, which could lead to a continuous drop in travel. Californian restaurants could take a bigger blow than hotels. Tourists spent $ 34.8 billion in state restaurants in 2023, more than the $ 32.8 billion they spent on accommodation, California said.

“Visitors are constantly spending the most for food services so that restaurants bring the weight of any decrease in tourism, especially in the main metropolitan destinations like San Francisco and Los Angeles compared to those of the suburbs,” said Jot Condie, Director General of California Restaurant Association. He said it could have a greater number in Los Angeles, who tries to recover from fatal fires earlier this year.

Condie said the association is trying to ensure that city leaders are experiencing the difficulties of the catering industry and that it also works on campaigns to stimulate local traffic.

As for the air transport industry, the CEO of California Caroline Beteta said that among the possible effects of a drop in travel in certain places is a reduction in airways.

“Whenever there are significant decreases in visits, airlines can draw routes from California airports, and this can have long-term impacts,” she said. “We saw that in China after the pandemic. Air transport between China and California is still well below its place in 2019. ”

Canadian connection

In February, Visit California published an annual increase of 15% of Canadian tourism in the state, but he now plans to publish a revised forecast in May which will probably be more in line with an estimate of tourist economies that will go from Canada to the United States will decrease 15% this year. Already, Canadian air arrivals in the United States decreased by 12.3% in February compared to the same month of last year, Visit California said.

Beteta said his group intended to maintain his marketing and advertising efforts in Canada and that he has a team in Toronto who “kept the Californian message alive on the market”.

This message, she said: “California can continue to attract Canadian travelers thanks to our diversified culture and our open -minded attitude.”

The question of whether this message resonates is a big question. Flight Center, a main Canadian travel agency, said that in February, it had seen a 20% cancellation rate during the United States in the last three months.

Amra Durakovic, communications manager for Flight Center Travel Group Canada, said that “Canadians choose to spend their tourist dollars with more intention than ever”, adding that the agency see more national travel reservations as well as an increase in international trips to destinations in Europe and elsewhere.

Nancy, who asked that her last name will not be published because she fears that the Trump administration is targeting the two citizens like her, is a “snowbird”. She and tens of thousands of Canadians, many of whom have retired, remain in California and other hot American states during the winter months.

Canadians were able to stay in this country up to six months at a time without visa, but from April 11, they will have to register with the American immigration authorities if they intend to stay for more than 30 days.

Now Nancy said that she had heard other snowbirds at Coachella Valley was carrying i-94 visas in their cars, in case they should prove that they are legally authorized to stay in the United States for a long time.

Nancy is of American origin but lives mainly in Canada since the early 1970s. She and her husband sell their condo to Rancho Mirage, a decision they made because of what she calls the headaches involved in the possession of properties in two countries, even before this “intimidation and nonsense”. Now she heard others like she is talking about selling their properties in California too.

“You come together with other Canadians, in the first two minutes, that’s what everyone is talking about,” she said. “Instability is not what you want to manage when you are retired.”

She has close ties to California, including a disabled brother in Los Angeles who has no other living family than her. So she must come back here. But she knows that Canadians are seriously to boycott American products and trips. “The economy will just be really shaken on both sides of the border if it continues,” said Nancy.