American tourism to Quebec may have dipped, but visitors are still coming — apologetically

In 25 years working at a Quebec hotel, Stephan Comeau says he’s never seen so many Americans come in apologizing for “the political situation in their country.”

Comeau is the front desk manager at Ripplecove Hôtel & Spa in the Eastern Townships. He said some Americans even call ahead to ask if being from the United States will be a problem.

But not everybody is worried.

“I feel welcome and I want to support Canada,” Daisy Benson told Radio-Canada while having a drink with her partner outside the Hovey Manor in North Hatley, Que., in late May.

Border crossing data shows fewer Americans are coming to Canada, and some theorize tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump may be the problem: travellers may fear they won’t be welcome north of the border.

The number of trips Americans took to Canada by car declined 10.7 per cent in April and 8.4 per cent in May compared to the same months last year.

Air travel was also down, with a 5.5 per cent drop in April and a slight 0.3 per cent decline in May, according to data from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

Despite the dip compared to 2024, the number of American air travellers over the first three weeks of May remains nearly seven per cent higher than in 2023. Travel was at a near standstill in 2020 and 2021, and remained quite low in 2022.

Looking back to 2019, about five per cent more U.S. travellers arrived by air than this year.

At least one tourism association, Tourisme Cantons-de-l’Est in the Eastern Townships, has launched an ad campaign to reassure their neighbours they’ll be warmly welcomed.

It aims to dispel fears as the summer season gets underway. The ad is playing on YouTube and on TVs in northeastern United States.

The organization’s head, Shanny Hallé, said the exchange rate “is very favourable for Americans right now, so they can experience luxury vacations inexpensively.”

The campaign emphasizes affordability while “reaffirming our values of hospitality,” she said, to help Americans feel welcome.

Between January and April, she said, entries at the Quebec-U.S. border fell by a little more than four per cent.

Yves Lalumière, president and CEO of Tourisme Montréal, said the slower start wasn’t unexpected given recent tensions, but he expects American travel to remain around average — plus or minus three to five per cent.

“We’re not looking at any decline that is drastic,” Lalumière said, noting the Grand Prix is expected to bring in two million visitors.

It’s not going to be a record year, he said, but it won’t be a bad one either. He called it a stable positive and said there are no signs of a significant slowdown.

“We’re still early in the game for the summer,” he said. “August, September and October are good months for American clientele as well.”

With fewer Canadians travelling to the U.S., he said Canadian organizations and businesses are planning conventions and meetings in Montreal instead. At the same time, the city is working to attract more international visitors.

The Montreal airport has continued diversifying its routes to reduce reliance on any one market. Lalumière said the city is now connected to 156 markets, with flights from places like India, Dubai and Tokyo.

“We’ve added a lot of flights. A lot of countries,” said Lalumière.

Like Lalumière, Glenn Castanheira said there was a downturn in American travellers, but momentum is returning. He’s the executive director of downtown Montreal’s merchants’ association, which grew concerned when the trade war began and Trump started threatening Canada’s sovereignty.

While he remains cautiously optimistic, Castanheira said efforts by groups like his — along with the Montreal Chamber of Commerce, Tourisme Montréal and others — suggest Americans aren’t particularly worried about crossing into Canada.

They know they’re welcome, he said, but they’re saying “sorry” so often that he jokes Americans may be becoming Canadian.

“Add to the mix that the American dollar is to the advantage of the Americans, that’s a huge player,” said Castanheira, who studied at Harvard University.

“What I am trying to say is, we’re not that concerned because Americans know how welcome they are, especially here in Montreal.”