The beauty of Niagara Falls, in photos by Buffalo News staff.
The summer of 2025 is shaping up to be the tourist season without Canadians.
Just in time for Canada Day, Erie County’s tourism bureau has launched a campaign to remind Canadians of Western New Yorkers’ affection for them. Starting Tuesday, a billboard on the Queen Elizabeth Way near Toronto will proclaim “Buffalo loves Canada.”
Our neighbors to the north have vowed to boycott trips to the United States amid President Trump’s tariff wars and biting rhetoric. The Canadian dollar is stalled at 72 cents American, making purchases here more costly. Bridge traffic has dropped roughly 17%.
That is not good for the Buffalo Niagara businesses that rely heavily on cross-border tourism this time of year. It’s having a big impact on local tourism operators, hotels, restaurants, cultural groups and attractions.
Twist O’ the Mist, a Niagara Falls ice cream stand, has cut its staffing and scaled back expansion plans.
Foot traffic is down 30% at Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls USA.
And Explore & More Children’s Museum is trying to figure out how to make its budget work after losing as much as $20,000 per month in visitor receipts.
This is what tourism season looks like in Western New York when Canadians stay home.
Tourists take pictures from Prospect Point in Niagara Falls State Park. Roughly 152,539 fewer travelers crossed the Western New York and Canada border via land in June compared with last year, according to Customs and Border Patrol.
The impact is sweeping.
Instead of attracting extra business this summer with last year’s Great Lakes 360 expansion, the Aquarium of Niagara saw its attendance decrease by 18% in July. And nonprofit music venue Artpark is expecting at least a 60% loss in Canadian visitors, equal to at least $150,000 in lost revenue, which is expected to negatively affect nearby restaurants and shops in Lewiston.
Tourism officials and business owners point to a mix of factors behind the decline, including Trump’s polarizing rhetoric, such as his references to Canada as the 51st state, and tariff policies that have chilled cross-border sentiment, as well as a weak Canadian dollar and softness in Canada’s economy.
Roughly 152,539 fewer travelers crossed the Western New York and Canada border via land in June compared with last year, according to Customs and Border Patrol.
It’s spelling trouble for the businesses and organizations that have long relied on our nearby Canadian neighbors to keep the industry profitable.
“We miss them terribly,” said Michelle Urbanczyk, CEO of Explore & More Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Children’s Museum. “We are certainly not alone. We’re hearing it from all our partners, saying that they’re way down. My other counterparts have also said they’re seeing a reduction anywhere from 15 to 20% below normal.”
Last year in July, the museum saw 1,500 Canadian visitors. Last month, that number dropped to 400.
The museum is feeling the pain in its bottom line and so are its workers, as Explore & More has responded by cutting its hours.
It has tried to recapture some Canadian business by working with Canadian influencers who share their trips to the museum, but said it has been careful not to spend too much of its precious marketing dollars courting a market that won’t budge. It has instead devoted dollars to nearby drive markets such as Rochester, Syracuse, Cleveland and Erie, Pa.
It is also not filling open positions within the company to save money.
“When you lose any market, it’s hard. Talking to my neighbors, especially our Canalside neighbors, it’s, ‘What’s our plan? How do we bring newer audiences to Canalside that Canadians normally filled?’” Urbanczyk said. “Losing $20,000 per month, for us, it’s big dollars. We have a budget of $3 million. That’s a big chunk to just lose.”
She regularly speaks to Canadians who are nervous about making the trip, and tries to handle any worries they have, she said.
Tourists view Niagara Falls from the Hurricane Deck last month. With fewer Canadians visiting Buffalo Niagara, businesses that rely heavily on cross-border tourism are struggling to remain profitable.
“A lot of it was, they were nervous about coming across the border. They were also worried about, if someone saw their Canadian plate, would they be vandalized,” she said. “A lot of it is politics, some of it is just the economy and just the Canadian exchange.”
Local tourism board Visit Buffalo Niagara is “doing a yeoman’s job” trying to win Canadians back, she said, pointing to its “Buffalo loves Canada” promotions and other outreach. But it is an uphill battle, VBN CEO Patrick Kaler said. Starting in February, engagement on VBN’s website dropped as much as 73% among Canadians, he said.
“The exchange rate has really been holding at 72 cents. And what we’re hearing from the Canadians is that it really has nothing to do with tariffs or exchange rate, it has everything to do with their sovereignty and becoming a 51st state, that’s what really has them very upset,” Kaler said.
Typically, Canadian visitors make up as much as 40% of overall travel to Erie County, he said. With other overseas travel down as well, Buffalo Niagara is seeing strong interest from such markets as Boston, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Chicago. The added business has helped fill hotel rooms, putting hotel occupancy down just 2.4%, he said. The average hotel daily rate is down just 0.7%, he said.
“As far as our growth potential markets, this fall, we’re really amping up with our new marketing campaign, going into those markets very aggressively,” Kaler said.
At Twist O’ the Mist, an ice cream shop on Niagara Street in Niagara Falls, sales are down 20%.
“There’s definitely a huge decline in tourism overall, throughout the whole year,” said owner Sukhdeep Singh. “The weekdays are pretty slow. It used to be busy all day, every day.”
Tourists visit Niagara Falls State Park in Niagara Falls, N.Y., in this file photo. Businesses on the American side of the falls have seen a drop in the number of Canadian tourists.
Singh ended up modifying expansion plans to build a restaurant next door and built it in a shipping container instead. He is waiting to see how the season goes before beginning to implement other ideas, such as adding live music.
“Every weekend, the bridge was backed up – every Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Now there’s nobody even on the bridges. There’s no wait, no nothing,” Singh said. “It’s terrible for our business.”
At ShopCraft, a boutique on Elmwood Avenue, July receipts are down 18%, and the loss of Canadian shoppers is to blame, said owner Christa Penner.
“There used to be so many Canadians I couldn’t even count them,” she said. “So far this year, I’ve only spoken to six Canadians.”
During a stop Tuesday in Niagara Falls, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., urged Trump to curb his “ludicrous insults” against the country’s closest ally and make a better deal on trade.
“This is not a partisan issue,” Schumer said. “This is a people issue. This is a money in people’s pocket issue. This is an economic issue.”
“When they hear from Donald Trump such nasty things about Canada, they start not to liking us,” Schumer said.
Frank Strangio, a developer who owns three Niagara Falls hotels, said Canadian, European and Asian traffic are down “significantly.” He owns Plati Niagara, with his father, Antonio, and his brother Anthony. Plati owns the Cambria in downtown Niagara Falls, along with a Quality Inn on Niagara Falls Boulevard and a Wingate by Wyndham in downtown Niagara Falls.
The hotels near downtown are doing OK, but business at the Quality Inn has dropped off because there is not as much business to go around, he said.
“When visitation is down, the radius around the falls is still going to do OK, because even though there’s less people, everybody wants to stay close to the falls,” he said. “So then, as you gradually move away from the falls, when you have more people, those rooms fill up.”
Strangio believes the situation will only continue to get worse if something doesn’t change.
Increased domestic travel from the border states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan and Ohio are keeping things “good, not great” for now, Strangio said. But when those families’ children return to school in the fall, it’s going to leave a bigger hole, he said.
“What I’m anxious to see is what happens when Labor Day hits, and then we get into the shoulder season to see the impact there,” he said.
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The beauty of Niagara Falls, in photos by Buffalo News staff.
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Tourists take pictures from Prospect Point in Niagara Falls State Park. Roughly 152,539 fewer travelers crossed the Western New York and Canada border via land in June compared with last year, according to Customs and Border Patrol.
Tourists view Niagara Falls from the Hurricane Deck last month. With fewer Canadians visiting Buffalo Niagara, businesses that rely heavily on cross-border tourism are struggling to remain profitable.
Tourists visit Niagara Falls State Park in Niagara Falls, N.Y., in this file photo. Businesses on the American side of the falls have seen a drop in the number of Canadian tourists.
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