The staycation goes Canada-wide: Scrapped U.S. trips could be a domestic boon

A ken. Jalopy circuit. A five-day sail to last frontier. A multi-state road trip, already postponed once by COVID-19. 

These are just a handful of the trips to the U.S. That Canadian residents have cancelled in recent weeks — costing hundreds or even thousands of dollars — to spend their time and money exploring Canada instead. 

"In the next four years, we will be looking at spending our money here and exploring all that Canada has to offer."

The "Buy Canadian" movement is growing in popularity, in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump placing massive U.S. Tariffs on Canadian goods and repeatedly threatening to annex Canada. Provinces and territories are seeing increased interest from Canadian tourists — and they're looking to capitalize on that momentum. 

That includes Nova Scotia, whose tourism board is readying a new domestic ad campaign to "entice and inspire" travel to the province, "leveraging existing sentiment around Canadian vacations," a spokesperson said. Operators are already reporting increased summer bookings, they said.

Gardner had been looking forward to her family's U.S. Road trip for years. Originally slated for 2021, the trip would've helped her get four states closer to her goal of visiting all 50 before her 50th birthday. 

But instead of touring a space centre in Alabama and mini golfing in Myrtle Beach, S.C., her family will be leaving later this month for a trip to Alberta, hitting attractions like Elk Island National Park and the Marmot Basin ski resort. 

"The kids are very excited to go to West Edmonton Mall," the 42-year-old said. 

It wasn't an easy decision to cancel their trip, which cost them $2,400 in non-refundable bookings. And they would have spent another $4,000 during the trip — money that Gardner now prefers to see invested in the Canadian economy.

"I think my principles are more important than my pocket at the end of the day."

For 66-year-old Brian Gallaugher, Trump's comments about Canada were the "deal-breaker" that caused him to cancel a trip to Kentucky. A regular traveller to the U.S., he also scrapped plans for an upcoming family visit. His son, who lives in the U.S., will make the trip up to Canada instead. 

He was able to apply his deposit for the Kentucky trip to a Canadian package offered by the same company, which will take him and his wife through eastern Ontario and Quebec. 

"The tour company was saying that they were quickly selling out on the Canadian tours."

Canadians have been increasingly pulling their business from the U.S. Over the past few months. Data released by Statistics Canada on Monday shows that the number of return trips among Canadians travelling to the U.S. By car declined by 23 per cent year over year in February. 

Meanwhile, some provinces and territories are ramping up their domestic tourism campaigns. 

Tannis Gaffney, chief marketing officer for Travel Alberta, said that instead of new ad campaigns, her team is responding to the increased interest by trying to highlight niche attractions for Canadians.

"Off the beaten path is what we're hoping we can benefit from this summer with increased Canadians visiting the province."

Cities such as Kingston, Ont., have announced new campaigns targeting travellers looking to stay in Canada. In Toronto, Ripley's Aquarium offered a 25 per cent discount for Ontario residents during February and offered a "No Tariff Tuesday" discount during this week's March Break.

Companies are hopping on board, with Flair Airlines announcing new flights between Charlottetown and Toronto starting in April, citing projections for weaker U.S. Bookings and more interprovincial interest.

Canadian travellers already account for most visitors to the provinces and territories — for instance, they make up a whopping 87 per cent of the visitors to Nova Scotia, according to the province. And with several provinces reporting strong interest from U.S. Visitors coming to Canada as the loonie remains weak compared to U.S. Currency, it's shaping up to be a busy season for this country's tourism industry. 

Tours and car rentals for the East Coast are "booking up fast right now," according to Amra Durakovic, head of communications for Flight Centre Travel Group. 

Vancouver resident Barbara Mazzega encountered multiple booked-solid hotels while trying to book a replacement trip to Newfoundland and Labrador recently. 

She and her husband were meant to go on a five-day cruise to Alaska with some friends. But when the threat of tariffs loomed in February, they decided to change their plans — and the eastern province had been on their to-visit list for years. 

"We just didn't want to give a U.S. Cruise ship line — a U.S. Anything — our money."

One silver lining of U.S.-Canada tensions, she said, might be that Canadians will be spurred to discover more of their own backyards.

She hopes more provinces advertise their hidden gems to capitalize on this moment. 

"I just hope it can be a positive and that people can find some of the amazingness. And it takes more than just driving down the Trans Canada," she said.

"We have seen spectacularly beautiful, amazing things that nobody even knows is in their own province. People don't know there was a volcano north of Terrace [in B.C.], and you can go see ancient lava flows.

"It's all worth seeing." 

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