BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The tariff fallout is hitting the U.S.-Canada border with tourism leaders in Buffalo and Niagara Falls saying they are already seeing an impact with fewer Canadians coming into the region.
"Words and actions taken by an administration can affect it so gravely,” remarked John Percy, president & CEO, Destination Niagara USA.
7 News Senior Reporter Eileen Buckley is sharing the voices of local tourism professionals, finding out how they are navigating without our ‘friends to the north’.
“We really count on Canadian travelers coming into our destination,” replied Patrick Kaler, president & CEO, Visit Buffalo Niagara
You might call it 'a tale of two cities' – Buffalo and Niagara Falls – where tourism leaders tell me they're feeling the repercussions from the trump administration's action and words.
“What are you finding them more angrier about the tariffs or the call by the president to become the 51st state?” Buckley asked. “I did hear from several Canadians who were very upset about their sovereignty,” responded Kaler.
“They're upset about the tariffs, but this is something that really hits home to them. They're very proud Canadians. They're proud of their country, and just the thought that, you know, we would just take over does not sit well with them.”
The Visit Buffalo Niagara leader tells me his agency has even paused a digital tourism campaign.
“We got a lot of backlash and a lot of very angry comments,” Kaler stated. “It's just not the time, so they don't want to hear from us at this point.”
For now, Kaler says they're promoting Buffalo in other U.S. cities, like Washington, Philadelphia and Boston.
“We're shifting our overall marketing efforts to some new growth potential markets. We’ve seen some new traction from those markets over the last couple of years. They come, and they spend more time when they're in our destination,” explained Kaler.
We do rely on the Canadian tourism into Buffalo and Erie County; in fact, Kaler said it adds up to 35 to 40 percent of overall tourism into Buffalo.
"We're hearing from our hotels, from our restaurants, from our attractions, that they're all being hit by this and they're noticing the drop off,” Kaler noted.
"Canada was our number two market to search on our website, and that has dropped to number four, and it's dropped by 44% in March of 25 compared to March of 24,” Percy commented.
Destination Niagara USA leader Percy tells me the Niagara Falls International Airport is already taking a hit."I know; 32% fly out of Buffalo. 80% fly out of Niagara Falls for Allegiant Airlines, we start losing that number, we can start losing the amount of seats in and out of Buffalo and Niagara Falls airports, and so that's concerning.”
But Percy says he's still seeing shoppers coming into the falls.
“I was at DiCamillo’s bakery and saw a Canadian car pull up and I started talking to them and thanking them for still coming over, and they said, well, we can't stop. We love it here,” Percy recalled.
