Border hassles help cut Canada visits to new low

Travel from the U.S. to Canada slumped in October to the lowest level since records have been kept, likely thanks to border hassles, confusion about passport requirements and a stronger Canadian dollar.

According to Statistics Canada, there were 2.3 million trips from the U.S. in October, down 12.1 percent from a year earlier. That's the least travel since 1972. The number of same-day car trips fell 18 percent while the number of overnight trips fell 2.1 percent.

The dropoff hurts tourism and trade across Cascadia and could hinder attempts by Washington to take advantage of the surge in visitors around the 2010 Olympics. Delays at the border highlight the need for Washington and B.C. to convince the federal governments to fund better infrastructure and use much clearer standards to screen travelers.

Strength in the Canadian currency also discouraged travel in October, as the dollar rose to 88 cents against the U.S. dollar. Still, travel from seven of Canada's top 12 overseas markets was up, though the total number of visits from countries other than the U.S. was off 1.9 percent to about 370,000.

Comments

[Brian]

I don't see any references that point to "border hassles" as a deterrent. Is there actual study data that points to this?

It should be noted that some of the current delays are due to ongoing infrastructure upgrades at WA-CA crossings.

Vague calls for "clearer standards" are pointlessly vague. What specific rule changes would you favor to expedite crossings?

[brad]

The report is just statistics. The number of trips are down, so I'm making educated guesses about the variety of reasons.

I'd like to see less arbitrary enforcement of rules that choke travel and trade without necessarily making anyone safer. To get there I'd like to see a vastly expanded and more convenient preferred traveler program. There also needs to be more coordination between the U.S. and Canada on screening visitors from third countries.

[bubs]

A friend of mine was recently detained at the border and, yes, hassled by Canadian border guards over a 35-year-old arrest in the US (w/ no resulting conviction) related to a Vietnam war protest. The Canadian authorities eventually offered to let her across in exchange for a $200 visa! Needless to say, she turned around, and will probably never visit Canada again.