Thinking of cancelling your trip to the U.S.? You're not alone

Heather Austin and her husband should be basking in the Florida sunshine this week, but standing up for her country felt more important.

The Nova Scotia couple cancelled their trip just over a week before they were set to leave. The reason? U.S. President Donald Trump's recent attacks on Canada's economy and sovereignty.

"It's my country, it's my community, and I need to do what I can," Austin told CBC Radio's Information Morning Nova Scotia in a recent interview.

The Austins are part of a growing number of Canadians who plan to boycott the U.S. during the Trump presidency, with many vowing they won't travel south of the border.

Since taking office last month, Trump has targeted Canada with hefty tariffs and has insisted the country — a longstanding diplomatic ally and major trading partner — become the 51st state.

'It was unanimous'

Austin said they held a family meeting early last week to discuss the upcoming trip to Orlando, Fla., which was already booked. Tickets for Walt Disney World and Universal Studios Florida had also been bought.

"It was unanimous. We made the decision to stay in the cold and vote with our wallets and stay home," said Austin, who lives in Hants Border, N.S., a small community just north of Windsor.

In a recent Narrative Research poll of 1,600 Maritime residents, roughly 62 per cent said they will travel to the U.S. less often over the next year. That's up from 37 per cent in December.

The majority of those polled said the reason was their dissatisfaction with Trump's leadership as well as safety concerns, including fear of violence, crime, gun culture and public unrest.

The poll was conducted on Jan. 30 and 31 and the margin of error is plus or minus 2.4 percentage points, with a confidence level of 95 per cent.  

Margaret Chapman, COO of Narrative Research, said results of the poll provide insights into how Maritimers are feeling about travelling to the U.S.

"They said things like, 'I disagree with Trump,' and 'I don't want to give the U.S. my money while he's in power,'" Chapman recently told CBC Radio's Maritime Connection. 

Meanwhile, a non-profit association that represents the travel industry in the U.S. is bracing for the impact of those changing travel habits.

In a recent news release, the U.S. Travel Association said Canadians are the top international visitors to the U.S., with more than 20 million visits last year.

It said a 10 per cent reduction in Canadian travel could mean two million fewer visits, $2.1 billion in lost spending and 14,000 job losses.

Val Peacock, chair of the municipal council in Bar Harbor, Maine, said residents in her corner of the U.S. are concerned. She described Nova Scotia as a "neighbour," with the state and province linked by the CAT ferry.

"It does make me sad on a personal level," said Peacock, noting her husband is from Montreal and they travel to Canada frequently.

"Bar Harbor is a big tourism spot in Maine and what is going to happen to our economy and individual people — we don't know."

On the flip side, a weakening of the Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar may actually influence Yankees to travel north, said Lorn Sheehan, a professor of management at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

"That weakening makes travel to the U.S. very expensive for Canadians ... but what's great for Canada is that means Canada is on sale for Americans," said Sheehan.

"We look to see a lot more Americans coming here when the American dollar is strong."

Austin was able to cancel her flights and hotel bookings without penalty. Her Disney and Universal tickets were non refundable. But to her surprise, when she called and explained the situation, both companies gave her a full refund.

"They actually apologized for what was going on," she said. 

The couple has decided to vacation in British Columbia in the spring and will head to Spain in the fall.

"I firmly believe that every single thing that we do as individuals collectively can and will make a difference," she said.