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R 031836Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY OTTAWA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 0332
INFO HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHINGTON DC
DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
AMCONSUL CALGARY
AMCONSUL HALIFAX
AMCONSUL MONTREAL
AMCONSUL TORONTO
AMEMBASSY OTTAWA
APP WINNIPEG
AMCONSUL QUEBEC
AMCONSUL VANCOUVER

UNCLAS OTTAWA 000140 
 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON CA EIND ETRD SOCI SMIG
SUBJECT: Tales of the U.S.-Canada Border #1 - Who Goes Where 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary: Canadians regularly complain to U.S. officials 
that increased U.S. security measures such as the June 2009 Western 
Hemisphere Travel Initiative passport requirement have stifled 
cross-border travel and U.S. tourist visits to Canada.  Recent 
Statistics Canada figures show that while U.S. visits to Canada 
steadily declined between 2003 and 2008, Canadian visits to the 
U.S. actually increased during the same period.  Factors such as 
the rise of the Canadian dollar and the more severe recession in 
the U.S. may have had a longer lasting and more significant impact 
than increased security measures.  End summary. 
 
 
U.S. Canada Cross-Border Travel Trends 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶2.  (U) On January 21 Statistics Canada reported that travel from 
Canada to the United States increased between October and November 
2009 by 3.4 percent while travel from the United States to Canada 
increased during the same period by 0.8 percent.  Despite this one 
month increase, however, in recent years travel by US residents to 
Canada has been on a steady decline even as travel by Canadians to 
the United States has increased. 
 
¶3.  (U) According to Statistics Canada figures, in 2008 there were 
43,613,000 visits to the United States from Canada, up 21 percent 
from 2003.  By contrast, in that same year there were 22,605,000 
visits to Canada from United States, down 35 percent from 2003. 
(Note: these figures include multiple visits by the same traveler 
and persons in transit from third countries.)  Not only is the 
decline in U.S.-based travelers significant in relative terms but, 
given that the population of the United States is roughly ten times 
that of Canada, there is a significant disparity in absolute terms 
as well. Five years ago, the numbers were roughly equal, with each 
side sending approximately 35 million visitors across the border. 
 
Visitors from the United States to Canada (one or more days; 
thousands of travelers) 
 
 
Visitors from Canada to the United States (one or more days; 
thousands of travelers) 
 
 
Reports are available at 
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/66-201-x/66-201- x2008000-eng.htm 
 
andalso at 
 
http://cansim2.statcan.gc.ca/cgi-win/cnsmcgi. pgm?Lang=E&SP_Action=Result&SP_ID=4007&SP_TYP =5&SP_Sort=1&SP_Portal=2 
 
 
 
 
Why are U.S. visits declining? 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (U) Many Canadians complain to U.S. officials that American 
security requirements are the reason for fewer U.S. visitors to 
Canada: however; the decline could be the result of several factors 
including changes to border crossing requirements for travelers, 
the effects of the economic recession, or changes to the exchange 
rate. 
 
-- Border Crossing 
 
¶5.  (U)  On June 1, 2009, the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative 
went into effect requiring travelers at land borders to use a 
passport or enhanced driver's license to enter the United States. 
Both the air and land requirements also applied to U.S. residents 
returning to the United States.   There is anecdotal evidence that 
the WHTI led to a downturn in cross-border land traffic in the 
latter half of 2009.  However when a similar requirement was 
introduced for air travel in January 2007, visits to the US from 
Canada actually increased in 2008.  Similarly, monthly data 
following June 2009 show an overall increase in land travel from 
Canada to the U.S. despite the addition of passport requirements. 
 
-- Recession 
 
¶6.  (U) The economic downturn combined with changes to the exchange 
rate may offer a more plausible explanation for declining U.S. 
visits to Canada and increased Canadian visits to the United 
States. First, Canadians may have more money to spend on travel 
since Canada has been less hard hit by the effects of the 
recession.  From December 2007 to October 2009, the U.S 
unemployment rate has doubled from 4.9 percent to 10.2 percent. 
During the same period, Canada's unemployment rate rose from 5.2 
percent to 7.7 percent. Average economic growth in Canada declined 
from 2.86 percent in 2006 to -2.9 percent in 2009, while in the 
United States annual growth declined from 2.65 percent to -3.23 
percent during the same period.  While the magnitude of the decline 
is about the same, the Canadian economy was relatively stronger at 
the beginning of the recession. 
 
-- Exchange Rate 
 
¶7.  (U) Since 2003, the Canadian dollar has been appreciating 
relative to the US dollar.  During the period from 2000 to the end 
of 2004, the average exchange rate of the Canadian dollar was 69 
cents U.S., but from 2005 to the end of 2009, the average exchange 
rate has been 89 cents.  The most dramatic period of appreciation 
began in the summer of 2007 and between October 2007 and February 
2008 the Canadian dollar hit and exceeded parity several times. 
This was the first time the two currencies traded at par since 
November 1976 and, throughout the autumn of 2007, the Canadian 
media made frequent reports about large numbers of Canadians 
heading south for cross-border shopping and more affordable 
vacations. As of February 1, 2010, one Canadian dollar was worth 94 
cents U.S. 
 
 
Who goes south and who goes north? 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶8.  (U) Ranked according to number of individual trips, the top 
five states visited by Canadians in 2008 were New York, Florida, 
Washington, Michigan and California.  However, for longer-term 
vacations, Canadians spent more than 48 million visitor nights in 
Florida, far surpassing second-place California (approx. 11 million 
visitor nights).  In total, Canadians enjoyed more than 144,000,000 
visitor nights in the United States in the course of more than 43 
million visits during 2008.  On an annual basis, Canadians spent 
the most money in Florida ($3 billion), California ($1 billion), 
New York ($895 million) and Nevada ($871 million). In total, 
Canadians spent nearly $12 billion on travel and tourism in the 
United States in 2008. (Americans spent approximately $6.1 billion 
in Canada.) 
 
¶9.  (U) According to Statistics Canada, sixty percent of U.S.-bound 
Canadian travelers are over 45 years of age and they travel to the 
United States twice as often by car than by plane.   The average 
traveler spends about 82 dollars per night on food, accommodation, 
fuel and recreation, unless he/she is from Saskatchewan in which 
case per night spending rises to $108.  And, if a Canadian is lured 
by the bright lights of Vegas, individual per night spending rises 
to 176 dollars.  (At $146 per night, Washington DC ranks second in 
per night spending by Canadians.)  The average length of stay by 
Canadians in the United States is 5.6 nights. 
 
¶10.  (U) The majority of U.S. travelers to Canada are also aged 45 
and over and more often travel by car.  Their top three 
destinations are Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec.  In total, 
Americans spent more than 51,000,000 visitor nights in Canada the 
course of more than 22 million visits during 2008.Although there 
are fewer American travelers coming to Canada than the reverse, 
average per person spending by Americans is higher at 122 dollars 
per night.  The highest per person spending is in Quebec at $145 
per night and lowest is in the Atlantic provinces at $102 per 
night. 
 
 
Economy, more than passports, influences traveler choices 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------------------- 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Comment:  Although there is not a definitive study of 
why U.S. travel to Canada has declined, given the strong exchange 
rate and recession statistics noted above, it is clearly simplistic 
to focus all blame on increased security requirements -- especially 
as they do not seem to have slowed Canadians heading to the United 
States.  End comment. 
 
 
JACOBSON