The State of the Canadian International Traveler in Q1 2025

Future Partners conducted our annual The State of the International Traveler survey in 16 top global tourism markets (Canada, as well as Australia, Argentina, Brazil, China, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, United Kingdom) from December 20th, 2024 through January 15th, 2025—post the U.S. Presidential Election and prior to tariff announcements from the U.S. federal government. For U.S. marketers who rely on or are targeting Canadian tourism business, here’s what you need to know now.

The Good

• 90.2% of Canadian international travelers say they will take at least one international trip this year
• 63.5% plan to take the same number of international trips this year as last year
• 39.8% indicate that international travel will be a high priority in their budget this year
• In an open-ended question, 44.8% of Canadian international travelers surveyed named the United States as one of the top 3 international travel destinations they most want to visit this year—more than twice the rate of the closest competitor, Mexico, at 19.9%

The Bad

• Among Canadians who have visited the U.S. in the last two years, 34.9% say their perceptions of the US declined based on this experience, the highest of all markets studied
• 68.6% of Canadian international travelers are interested in visiting the U.S. in the next two years, placing it in the bottom three of the 16 markets we study
• 29.9% say U.S. politics make them less likely to visit the United States, outweighing the 21.8% that say it makes them more likely

Other Key Considerations

• 68.1% of Canadian international travelers report they have visited the United States in the last two years
• 85.6% of Canadian international travelers named trip costs as an important factor in their consideration of international travel—in fact, its their top consideration
• Canadian international travelers are amongst the likeliest markets to express that they want a friendly and welcoming tone in the international travel advertising put forward to them

The full report is available in March 2025, and includes insights on the impact of politics, media usage, travel planning resources, trip expectations, travel behaviors, travel preferences and brand metrics on more than 60 U.S. brands. Contact us to learn more and buy your report.