Kingston, Ont. businesses not seeing a decline in U.S. visitors

Tourism operators in Kingston are hopeful the trade war won’t lead to a decline in U.S. visitors this summer. CTV’s Jack Richardson reports.

Tourism operators in Kingston, Ont. are not seeing a decline in U.S. visitors this spring, as new statistics show fewer Americans are crossing the border into Canada.

According to data from Statistics Canada, the number of trips by U.S. residents to Canada by automobile dropped by 10 per cent in April compared to April 2024, marking the third consecutive month of a year-over-year decrease.

Kingston, approximately 200 km southwest of Ottawa, is a city that thrives on tourism revenue. The proximity to the U.S. border brings plenty of American tourists to the city, and for the time being that’s still the case, according to officials.

“We’re arms wide open. We’re welcoming our American travelers,” says Krista LeClair, the executive director of the Kingston Accommodation Partners.

• Fewer trips from eastern Ontario to New York State this spring, data shows

Allan Markham and his wife Rachel were visiting from Yorkshire, England.

“This is my first visit to Canada, Rachel’s been here before, but it’s my first visit,” Markham said.

“We didn’t know greatly about Kingston. We barely knew about the 1000 islands, so we thought we’d stop off. It looks like it could be quite a nice place to spend two days.”

Though it’s still the middle of May, Tuesday felt more like mid-July in Kingston. Located on the shore of Lake Ontario, the Kingston harbour is packed with tourists.

That’s great news for Eric Ferguson, the manager of Kingston 1000 Islands Cruises.

“It’s been a good start to the season,” he says.

Ferguson adds that the number of American customers is roughly the same as it was last year.

“We have a beautiful, iconic Canadian destination to show them.”