05 MAY 2017: Fred Dixon, head of New York City’s tourism organization NYC & Co, concedes “there are challenges at the border at the moment.”  Dixon believes that recent comments from Donald Trump will impact the number of Canadians who cross the border this summer, and he isn’t taking any chances, heading up a sales mission to three Canadian cities to entice their northern neighbours.

Between Trump’s stance on immigration, intent to ban travel from certain Muslim-majority nations, and his fierce opposition to NAFTA, there have been rumblings among Canadians that they will not visit the US.

NYC & Co predicts a decline of 2.1 percent from foreign tourists, about 300,000 tourists, including 17,000 from Canada.

While this is not an alarming figure it has the potential to grow if not acted upon.

Dixon stated, “It seems like this isn’t going to be a passing situation. We could be in this environment for some time.”

Canadians have solid reasons for travelling in their own country this year, with the week Canadian dollar and the celebrations planned across the country for Canada’s 150th birthday.

But announcements that organizations will not take trips to the US are impactful and Girl Guides of Canada and the Toronto District School Board have both made these statements.

This week Dixon met with Canadian companies in Toronto, Quebec City and Montreal delivering a message from NY Mayor Bill de Blasio, that “the city’s diversity, tolerance and welcoming spirit complement the unmatched offerings of our five boroughs, and there’s never been a better time to visit.”

NYC & Co has recently made the sales missions to Mexico, China, Germany and the UK.

However, New York does not sit back and wait for things to happen.  The city has an astounding array of of new showpiece attractions and events planned or already introduced that we shall tell you about in our next edition.