‘We are not mad at all Americans, we are mad at Trump’: Tough tariff talk could impact tourism

The German tall ship Alexander Von Humboldt II participates in a parade of sails as part of Rendezvous 2017 in Halifax on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan (Andrew Vaughan/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Every winter for 24 years, Bob Bloomer and his wife travelled from Ontario to Florida to enjoy the sun, but this year, the Bloomers are staying home.

“With the stuff that (U.S. President Donald) Trump has been pulling for the past month, for years actually, I just can’t justify going down right now,” Bloomer said.

However, Bloomer is keeping an open mind about one day returning to the Sunshine State.

“I think Canadians have to remember: we are not mad at all Americans,” Bloomer said. “We are mad at Trump.”

Bloomer is not alone. A new survey from Narrative Research shows 62 per cent of Maritime residents will limit their travel to the United States, because of Trump’s policies.

Margaret Chapman, Narrative Research COO, says there’s a number things for Canadians to consider, as people are worried about the economic impact of tariffs, as well as not wanting to spend their money in the U.S.

“They’re also worried about the difference in the currencies and the drop in Canadian dollar,” Chapman said.

If travel from Canada to the U.S. takes a dip, tourism operator Dennis Campbell sees an opportunity for Canadians to spend their tourism dollars closer to home.

“America used to be our number one market, now Canada is our number one market,” Campbell said. “I anticipate from bookings that we are seeing lately that the Canadian business is going to continue to increase.”

As for any possible negative impact on U.S. travel to Canada, Campbell is relying on the weak Canadian dollar to be a positive factor.

“As much as we don’t like to see a weak Canadian dollar, the upside is, it generally is good for tourism,” Campbell said.

Delaware resident Elaine Elston visits Canada on a yearly basis. Lately, she’s been hearing some anti-Canadian sentiment from her American friends.

“Suddenly, it’s like, ‘oh yeah, those Canadians’ and I’m like, ‘who are you talking about?’” Elston said. “It’s a big shift for me it’s not what the United States has stood for.”

Elston is worried some of those people will not travel to Canada, but do not include her on that list.

“I absolutely will come because some of our best friends are up there.”