It would appear that the purported boycott of American goods is not working out so well in Canada after all.
Despite hordes upon hordes of Canadian consumers declaring their intention to boycott American products, it would appear that Canadian businesses feel otherwise.
At least Canadian businesses that heavily rely upon American tourists … which constitute the vast majority of tourists that currently visit the great “neighbor to the North.”
In fact, these businesses appear to feel so otherwise that they are putting up entire billboards in the United States in an effort to lure American tourists back.
Per an article from the New York Post, the Canadian tourism has gone on a major “offensive” to win back the hearts and minds of American tourists.
“Canada’s tourism industry is going on an offensive – rolling out ad campaigns in US border states to lure Americans back to the Great White North,” the New York Post began.
And that “offensive” is hardly surprising when considering the statistics provided.
Cross-border traffic for tourism purposes from the United States to Canada declined by 10 percent.
A fairly significant figure when considering that approximately 80 percent of tourists to Canada hail from America.
Not to mention the fact that American tourists dropped an estimated $15.3B last year in the United States’s neighbor to the north.
So, little wonder that the Canadian tourism has gone on a major league offensive to lure back American tourists.
In fact, one ad has gone far enough to realize that Americans might be nervous to travel to Canada, given the current political climate.
Indeed, one television ad features “an American tourist [who] sheepishly whispers to a Canadian hotel front desk worker that he’s from the land of the free.”
Naturally, the tourist is depicted “sporting a baseball cap and matching sweater tied around his shoulders,” reflecting the apparent perception of American tourists.
In addition, a billboard from Destination Ontario, an official tourism entity, goes as far as to highlight the declining Canadian dollar against the United States dollar as another motivation for travel.
“$1 USD = $1.43 CAD … Spend less, do more,” the billboard proclaims.
The billboard has been spotted in Detroit and Cleveland, amongst other cities presumably near the Canadian border.
The New York Post also notes that Canadians are feeling the pinch more from a decline in American tourism than vice versa.
Specifically, the New York Post notes that “the drop hasn’t been as dramatic as Canadian tourists to the [United States],” with cross-border tourism traffic from Canada to America declining by as much as 40 percent.
Will the charm offensive for bolstering American tourism to the north work?
Time remains to tell, but at least some unity between the United States and Canada is being forged amid a time of enormous international crisis.
Author: Jane Jones
