B.C. sees drop in American visitors amid cross-border tension

It may not feel like summer in parts of B.C., but make no mistake: Tourism season is underway.

With summer vacation season set to get into full swing, newly released data shows Americans and Canadians alike seem to be avoiding cross-border travel.

Statistics Canada released figures showing that the country’s number of U.S. and overseas visitors dropped again in April.

The data shows that the number of north-of-the-border trips by Americans was down 8.9 per cent year-over-year, and travellers from overseas were down 0.6 per cent.

In B.C., the numbers show a decline of 18,009 Americans in April. These figures were the third consecutive month of declining visits by U.S. residents and the seventh consecutive month of declining trips by visitors from overseas.

But officials in popular tourist destinations say there’s reason to be optimistic despite the recently reported decline in cross-border travel.

Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas says the area has seen more than 200,000 visitors and is on track to welcome far more at the airport.

“Our airport is seeing record numbers of over 2.1 million visitors,” said Dyas.

“The hotel room bookings that we have for Canada Day, which is coming up this weekend, and going into the summer months is still very strong.”

It remains unclear if these are foreign or domestic travellers but data from stats Canada also reveled that the number of Canadians returning from trips to the U.S. dropped by 29.1 per cent – suggesting the possibility that people are choosing domestic destinations.

TransLink is looking to capitalize on the domestic travel itch and announce its Transit-Friendly Summer Tours throughout Metro Vancouver.

The Lower Mainland transit service is offering 50 curated tours throughout the summer highlighting local businesses, attractions and other hidden regional gems. A passport will be available next week that will allow travellers to get it stamped at different locations for a chance to win a cash prize.

“You hop on a bus, you hop on a SkyTrain, and that’s going to take you to wherever you need to go,” said Anita Bathe, a TransLink spokesperson.

“There’s a fun contest involved, and it’s really exciting to make sure that we are encouraging people to support local businesses.”

While initiatives roll out to keep Lower Mainlanders and other British Columbians in the province, popular destinations south of the border are already seeing a drop in interest.

Steve Wright, the mayor of Seaside, Oregon, told CTV News on Wednesday that traffic to the website from Canadians is down 57 per cent year over year.

“We haven’t changed. We’re still accepting, we view you all as friends we haven’t met yet, and we want you to come and enjoy our town,” said Wright.

With files from CTVNews.ca’s Daniel Otis