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Has International Travel to the U.S. Really Collapsed? (www.nytimes.com)

submitted 1 month ago by CobraChicken3000@lemmy.ca to c/canada@lemmy.ca

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Canadians, angered by U.S. tariffs and Trump administration talk of turning their country into a 51st state, really do appear to be boycotting the United States. Ticket sales for travel in summer, a crucial season for the industry, are down 21 percent compared with last year.

The decline in Canadian travelers, who make up roughly a quarter of all foreign visitors, is enough by itself to threaten tourism-oriented businesses in Florida, New York, Maine and other popular destinations.

Sometimes, however, the link between politics and personal travel decisions appears unmistakable. Since President Trump stepped up his hostility toward Canada, border crossings have plummeted.

Unlike air travel, land travel often isn’t planned months in advance, so changes reflect a change in sentiment more quickly. Crossings from Canada dropped sharply after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged Canadians to “choose Canadian products and services rather than American ones” on Feb. 1.

Traffic at two of the busiest crossings, near Niagara Falls, fell 42 percent in March compared with 2024. And traffic at a busy crossing point between Vancouver and Seattle fell 48 percent.

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[-] modeler@lemmy.world 37 points 1 month ago

Absolutely!

Right now there's a non-zero chance of being detained, stripped searched, probed and held in a prison cell without access to safe food and water for an unknown length of time before being deported. Hopefully not to a death in a Columbian hellhole.

I don't know about you, but even if that is a tiny chance, I'm not risking myself or my family unless it's really important.

[-] Mugmoor@lemmy.dbzer0.com 17 points 1 month ago

To be honest, even if that wasn't the case I still couldn't be convinced to go south of the border. I don't want to contribute to their economy if I can avoid it.

[-] Nouveau_Burnswick@lemmy.world 13 points 1 month ago

The chance was always non-zero. It's much higher than usual now.

Remeber these lines for foreign government detention: I wish to speak to the Canaidan embassy & I wish to be released to Canaidan custody. Some nations won't begin the process until you ask.

[-] modeler@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

There was definitely a chance of being denied entry (with possible strip searching), but the usual consequence was being sent back to where you came from on the next plane and never being able to come back. Weeks in ICE custody and concentration camps are completely new.

[-] Nouveau_Burnswick@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

That's been modus operandi since ICE formation in 2003. It's certainly cranked up with the current administration, but it's not even the first surge push. Obama, for example, punted somewhere around 2.4 million.

Even before that, Ellis Island is a pretty famous detention centre, which itself was predated by Castle Clinton.