New York Tourism Plummets Due to Tariffs, Annexation Talk

0:00Canadian and Mexican visitors to New York have dropped big time thanks to high tariffs and annexation talk last year. Nearly 3.6 million fewer Canadians showed up between 2024 and 2025, a more than 21 percent plunge. Mexicans cut back by 4.2 million, down over 2 percent. Border towns took the hardest hit with travel jobs vanishing in upstate areas. The North Country saw 1.9 percent drop in tourism employment from January to September 2025, while western New York lost. 656 positions. Exports to Canada, New York's top trading buddy, tainted by $3.8 billion. Controller Thomas D'Napoli called out federal policies for scaring off tourists and slashing billions in spending. He says this means fewer jobs statewide, especially in hotels and restaurants near the border. Hotel occupancy fill 1.2 percent across the state, and overseas arrivals dip 3 percent, second only to California.

1:01Exports dropped to nearly half of New York's trade partners across two thirds of product types, with imports from Canada down 7 percent and from. China nearly 30 percent. Stats Canada data from March shows Canadians are still skipping the US, with return trips down 31.5 percent from February 20. 24 to February 2026. Without friendlier policies, D'Napoli warns the pain will keep spreading to everyday workers and local spots. Local news powered by AI. This is Vancouver News today.