By Michael Baginski/ I’m usually the one asking the questions. But this year at IPW, the U.S. Travel Association interviewed me – on camera – about my views on Canadian travel south of the border during these troubled times. And as a Canadian, I told them we were pissed.
It wasn’t the first time I had said that during the association’s annual, signature trade show, which took place in Chicago last week. In fact, most of my appointments, including a dozen speed-dating sessions at the media marketplace, and beyond that in some casual encounters, inevitably saw the tables turned, with me being asked to advise these concerned U.S. travel promoters what they could and should say to us.
Of course, from tariffs to border concerns and the 51st state, it was not unknown that Canadians currently are not amused with Donald Trump and his sycophants and enablers; but the depth of that despair may not be resonating.
While some certainly emphasized that “you have every right to be pissed,” one U.S. hotelier (Canadian by birth), told me, “People down here have no idea how angry Canadians are.”
That may be the case for U.S. Travel itself, which barely mentioned its No. 1 market during the course of the week, nor made itself available in any way for questions. (What will become of my filmed interview, I have no idea).
Some believe the moment – which has seen Canadian visitations generally agreed to have declined by about 40% (depending on the metric, such as by land or air, the destination, and the source) – will eventually pass.
Sorry, is not the hardest word to say
Not that the American delegates aren’t apologetic. When asked how his appointments with American suppliers were unfolding, one Canadian tour operator buyer told me, “After they say sorry, very good.”
And where apologies were not expressly offered, emotional and passionate invitations of welcome often were.
Before his presentation, Gregg Caren, president and CEO of the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, simply shouted, “We love Canada!”
Canadians also received a healthy helping of love at 360 Chicago, which hosted most of the Canadian delegation on opening night on behalf of the Discover America Canada committee, at which the observation deck attraction’s market representative Jim Vozzella gushed that Canadians are like “family” and that he would do anything he’s asked to help travel sellers reassure their clients coming to Chicago.
In an interview with Travel Industry Today, Bob Harris executive VP of group sales for Visit Myrtle Beach, said, “My heart was broken when I visited Canada earlier this year and people were concerned about whether they would be welcome in our destination, and that really caught me off guard. I never would have thought our Canadian friends would ever have thought that they would be treated any other way than we treat our own neighbours.
“So, we decided we needed to reach out and we tried to greet every motorcoach that came into Myrtle Beach this year and go and welcome them and talk to them and make sure they knew we were there if they had any issues at all. And the thing I think that was most relieving to me was that they all said, ‘this is the most welcome we ever felt before.’ That people were actually coming up to them and saying, ‘Oh, you’re from Canada. We’re so glad you’re here.’”
He observed that all friendships require re-evaluation and work and “We’ll get through this together.”
Similarly, Danielle Hollander, chief marketing officer for Visit Orlando, noted that her organization has not pulled back on any of its Canadian outreach.
“We’ve always been welcoming. It’s in Orlando’s DNA,” she said. “It has been a part of how the city has been since its inception. And we’ve always enjoyed a great relationship with our Canadian travellers. It’s our No. 1 international market, and regardless of what’s going on, we will continue to be inviting and welcoming.
“We’re going to continue to be good partners in working through this, just as we have in the past when there’s been turmoil, and we’ve been great supporters in good times and great supporters when things have been bad.
“What I would say to the travellers is, our destination hasn’t changed… That’s who we are, that’s who we’ve been and that’s never going to change.”
Asked at press conference by Travel Industry Today what he would say to Canadians directly, Destination DC president and CEO Elliott Ferguson, replied, “Canada is our ally. We want them to come. Overwhelmingly I would like to think that the process of coming into the United States and the welcome you received in Chicago (indicates) that there is an overwhelming sense that the United States wants Canadians to come.
“But if you choose not to come for whatever reason, you’ve got to follow your conscience. But in terms of safety and in terms of feeling welcome, and all of the overwhelming response that the people of the United States want you to feel, that’s the most important thing. If you choose not to come for whatever reason right now, we understand, but hope that you will continue to feel comfortable at some point in time about coming back to visit the U.S.”
So, what did I tell U.S Travel?
When asked on camera how Canadians feel about travel to the U.S. right now, I repeated what I had told countless U.S. travel colleagues throughout the week – that not unlike many other international travellers, Canadians are put off by the regime, appalled by ICE, and scared off by the prospects of border intrusions (checking phones, etc.) and fears of detainment (even if the latter are rarer than believed).
But beyond that, I explained, for Canadians (as opposed to the other nationalities) there’s more: it’s also personal. We feel hurt and betrayed – as if we woke up one morning and our best friend, or cousin, had turned on us, and for no discernable reason.
And angered by persistent by “51st state” threats and the “shredding” of the longest undefended border in the world. By the economic sabotage of tariffs that put people out of work and weaken the dollar, increasing prices on everyday goods (and travel).
We had always been the best of neighbours and friends, then suddenly one day, the neighbour over the fence (more affluent and with a much bigger house), announced that you had always been taking advantage of them, but are still welcome to come over for a barbecue on the weekend – but only if you pay to do so. Oh, and fyi, they also want (and perhaps intend to take) your yard for themselves.
As one Canadian delegate told me, that sense of betrayal feels like discovering your spouse has been cheating on you.
For more poignant understanding, I suggested watching ‘The Banshees of Inisherin,’ a 2022 film starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson that Wikipedia describes as being about “two lifelong friends who find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship, with severe consequences for both of them.”
(Spoiler: Gleeson’s character, Colm – the U.S. in the analogy – cuts off one of his own fingers and delivers it to his baffled former friend each time he tries to repair the friendship; I won’t tell you what Farrell’s character Padraig ultimately does.)
Off camera, I suggested to some Florida tourism execs that the state reprise now-retired Eileen Forrow’s legendary Visit Florida marketing campaign for Canada that declared the Sunshine State to be “Canada’s 11th province.” (I’m pretty sure my advice will reluctantly not be heeded).
So, what to do!
On behalf of the Great White North (and the travel industry here), I took the liberty of suggesting to U.S. Travel (and the many others who asked) three simple things:
- Be active and, better still, present, in the market. Many already are, and always have been. But especially now. Come if you never have before.
- But only if prepared to read the room and say the right things with the right attitude – unlike U.S. ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra who said earlier this month, “We welcome Canadians to come in and invest, to spend their hard-earned Canadian dollars at U.S. businesses.” (He justified that Americans entering Canadian were complaining about their treatment at the border too). Or at IPW, where U.S. Travel president and CEO Geoff Freeman similarly declared “We need to be loud and clear that America is open for business. We want your business…”
You are not simply “open for (our) business” – you are apologetic, appalled, contrite, and still value us – like the governors of the New England states (see following story). Show us the love, not the money.
Canadians are, as Visit Myrtle Beach’s Harris said, “part of who we are” – not customers.
Saying you oppose the administration’s actions, like the governors of California and Illinois have done in direct messages to Canadians (the latter calling the president “shameful” and his Canadian policies “the big, orange pumpkin in the room”) doesn’t hurt either.
But, most importantly, number three: Pray that, in the end, we don’t feel as Padraig ultimately did in ‘Banshees,’ telling his ex-friend, Colm, “Some things there’s no moving on from.”
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