BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Tourist agencies in Western New York are sounding the alarm, saying that tourism from our northern neighbors is significantly down so far this year following political strain between the two countries.
Patrick Kaler, president and CEO of Visit Buffalo Niagara, said typically 35% to 45% of tourists in the area come from Canada — adding that the recent strain between the U.S and Canada might be to blame for these lower numbers.
“The cross-border numbers for the month of February were down 14.4% over February 2025 compared to February of 2024. Very concerning to us,” said Kaler.
Destination Niagara USA shared similar numbers. President and CEO John Percy said hotel occupancy in the Niagara Falls area is down 11% compared to this time last year.
“I don’t think that is necessarily due to the president’s actions that took place after his inauguration,” said Percy. “I think a lot of ours, unfortunately, was due to the weather. The cold temperatures and the snow, etc., really played a role into our numbers.”
Both Percy and Kaler, when talking to other industry partners — like hotels, attractions and more — said they all have noticed a drop in the volume of Canadian visitors. Statistically, Kaler said travel decreased by over 14% from January to February.
Due to this strain on relationships, Visit Buffalo Niagara has paused its advertising efforts in Canada and is now targeting other markets.
“We are going to some new destinations where we’ve never advertised before,” said Kaler. “Through our research, we know that they come to Buffalo and they spend a lot of time, and they do spend a lot of money. So we’re starting to go to Detroit, Boston, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia.”
For Percy, Canada isn’t an international border — it’s another neighborhood for the region, one that plays a big role.
“When we lose business for Canada, we lose business from international countries,” said Percy. “That affects sales tax in various communities and that will affect fire and safety and police force and everything else. Our sales taxes in a lot of communities, people don’t realize are paid for by tourism.”
Kaler added that lingering effects from the pandemic, an unfavorable exchange rate and newly imposed tariffs are also to blame for the drop in border crossings.
Percy said that drops in tourism happened after 9/11, the 2008 recession and the COVID-19 pandemic — all events the region bounced back from.
“Fortunately, this is something that was manufactured by people, not a natural crisis or a downturn in economy,” said Percy. “We are resilient in Niagara Falls. Travel is resilient to the ebbs and flows of our world.”
Percy, also a member of the U.S Travel Association Board of Directors, will be in Washington this week to talk to leaders on Capitol Hill about this, making sure international relations remain strong.
Dillon Morello is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has been part of the News 4 team since September of 2023. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
