Tourism to Canada falls due to high dollar and petrol prices

The relatively high value of the Canadian dollar-when compared against the Greenback-has led to a marked decline in the number of tourists visiting Canada, and this drop has been most felt in a decrease in the number of American visitors. According to a CTV reports, some analysts believe that a “perfect storm” may be brewing for the tourism industry, as concerns about the shaky health of the world economy, high petrol prices and the low US dollar all converge to cause problems for the tourism and hospitality sector.

The number of visitors to Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal all dropped significantly this past month. Montreal, Canada’s second largest city, for example, now expects “only” 7.8 visitors this summer, which represents a decline from previous years. John Dunn, who represents Tourisme Montréal, told CTV News that there was “nothing worse” for the tourism industry than the unlucky convergence of so many negative factors, like a low US dollar, high petrol prices and an economic slowdown. Dunn did, however, point out that more tourists are now flying to Canada from Europe, as well as from South America, but all of Canada has relied so heavily on American visitors that it is difficult to balance the decline in their numbers, even if more people visit from further afield. Similarly to Montreal, Vancouver also expects a 6 percent drop in the number of visitors to the city.