PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (WCAX) – New York\u2019s North Country is dealing with a drop in Canadian visitors largely due to President Trump\u2019s rhetoric, but roughly 75% of Canadians are still visiting the area.<\/p>\n
After a nearly 10% drop in Canadian sales last year, Scott Hite, the owner of Livations Wine and Spirits, said he is feeling more optimistic about his business heading into the peak summer months.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year we are running about normal, and we are seeing Canadian traffic come back at least for us,\u201d Hite said.<\/p>\n
Last year, Hite was worried that President Trump\u2019s tariffs would hurt his business, primarily his Canadian customers. As of Thursday, he said tariffs have not changed the prices, but that some longtime Canadian customers have not returned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think they are just upset with America, you know. We got to come across, you know, we got somebody is doing a bunch of punishments to them, and they haven\u2019t even done anything,\u201d Hite said.<\/p>\n
Hite\u2019s business is a microcosm of what happened in the North Country in 2025.<\/p>\n
At the Plattsburgh International Airport, nearly 50% of all flyers on average are from Canada. Data from the North Country Chamber of Commerce shows those numbers took a nosedive, with 13,000 fewer passengers and one less airline.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of things that are outside of our control — political pressures, the strength of the Canadian dollar, fuel prices — all of these things add in to what really makes an individual decide where they are going to fly out of and the region they are going to fly out of,\u201d said the airport\u2019s Patrick Sharrow.<\/p>\n
But there are signs of a minor rebound. Data from Customs and Border Protection shows a spike in the number of travelers crossing the Champlain and Rouses Point Ports of Entry in April compared to last year. However, it is still roughly 14,000 fewer travelers than in 2024.<\/p>\n
Officials at the North Country Chamber of Commerce also say Canadian demographics are beginning to shift, with younger families seeking out vacations south of the border.<\/p>\n
\u201cFifty-plus is really a demographic who is not traveling. They are very politically driven. They are very much picking their destinations based on political beliefs and things like that,\u201d said the chamber\u2019s Kristy Kennedy. She says the long-term effort will be convincing older Canadians to return by stressing the area\u2019s longstanding cultural ties. For now, she said they are looking at other ways to make up the void. \u201cLooking at more domestic travelers and how do we get in-state travelers, those in a drive\u2019s time to kind of help us fill in that gap until we can bring back our Canadian travelers to the full extent.\u201d <\/p>\n
The chamber also said they should have a better idea later this year on which industries were affected the hardest by the loss of travelers.<\/p>\n
Currency exchange rate not behind drop in Canadian visitors<\/p>\n
The currency exchange rate does not appear to be factoring into the drop in Canadian visitors to the region.<\/p>\n
Data from the Royal Bank of Canada going back to January 2024, a year before President Trump took office, shows the exchange rate has stayed the same. It has been roughly 70 cents to the U.S. dollar the whole time.<\/p>\n
The Canadian Consulate General said last year that the president\u2019s comments, not the exchange rate, were the catalyst for Canadians to avoid America.<\/p>\n
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