It’s an ill wind that blows no good.
That old saw suggests that even in challenging times, something good is going on. Among the positive ‘somethings’ being spawned by the trade tensions triggered by global tariffs is a boost for Canada’s tourism industry.
Airlines are redirecting planes from routings to the US this summer, making additional capacity available for domestic travel. Direct flights from Saskatchewan to Halifax this summer are a case in point.
It turns out people are choosing to not only shop local, but they are travelling local too. The latest numbers on Canadians returning from American destinations show a 20-percent reduction in air travel and even more – 25-percent – fewer Canadians visiting the US by car.
But there was a 10-percent increase in people returning from other countries…so Canadians are still travelling abroad, just to new destinations.
However, the big story here is that Canadians are visiting other regions of their own country in a big way, a welcome break for tourism operators still trying to recover from the disruptions brought on by COVID.
