Canada sees fewer US visitors due to currency strength

Canada has been attracting fewer U.S. visitors over the last several months, and it isn’t the price of gasoline that’s keeping them away, according to the president of the Hotel Association of Canada.

Anthony Pollard, the association’s president, said the rise in the value of the Canadian dollar, or ‘loonie,’ as it’s known in Canada, is largely to blame for the drop in the number of U.S. visitors.

“For 10 years we became accustomed to the Canadian dollar at 75 to 80 cents, which fundamentally meant for an American coming up here you come up for two days and the third day is free,” Pollard added.

The ‘loonie’, which hit a high of US$1.10 last November, was worth approximately US$0.94 on Tuesday of this week.

Typically lengthy border delays and confusion about whether a U.S. passport is now needed for entry to Canada have added to keeping Americans from heading north.

“You put all of those together and the numbers from the U.S. are down. There’s no doubt about that at all,” Pollard continued.

The average price of gasoline in Canada is about $1.27, according to the Calgary-based consulting firm MJ Ervin and Associates, in their latest weekly survey published this Tuesday.

During August of 2007, gas cost approximately $1.01 a litre, according to the consulting firm.

Statistics Canada issued a report on Monday indicating that Canada received 13 per cent fewer visitors in June than the same month in 2007. Travel from the U.S. dropped almost 16 per cent for that same month, with single-day car trips alone falling by about 22 per cent.

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