Far fewer Canadians are visiting Cape Cod this summer than in the past. In at least one location, bookings from Canada are down nearly 80 percent.
Two Provincetown campgrounds, Coastal Acres and Dunes’ Edge, say many Canadian guests who return year after year have canceled their reservations.
Some guests have cited U.S. politics — including President Trump’s assertion that Canada should become the 51st state — as the reason.
Mary Dettloff, director of public relations for the Trustees of Reservations, which owns Dunes’ Edge Campground, said summer bookings from Canadians are down 77 percent since last year, and September bookings are down 66 percent.
“They're not upset at us,” she said. “They're upset at the political situation in the United States.”
At Coastal Acres, more Canadians are canceling than arriving. Cancellation emails cite what the guests call threats to Canada’s sovereignty or economy, manager Anna Kuzia said.
“There's definitely more cancellations than there are arrivals from our Canadian guests,” she said. “And the emails that we get are political in nature.”
Governor Maura Healey and other northeastern governors warned in June of a drop in Canadian tourism at a meeting with premiers of eastern Canadian provinces.
Campgrounds are not the only Cape Cod businesses seeing a loss in visitors from Canada.
Robert Martin, owner of Botanica, an art and home shop, said Canadians tend to visit in the spring and fall. But this spring, they were noticeably absent.
“We saw so few this year, we could almost count them on one hand,” he said.
Spring business in Provincetown was clearly affected, said the town’s tourism director, Tony Fuccillo. But he said he’s keeping a positive outlook about the season. The town added more regional advertising in Massachusetts and Rhode Island to draw domestic visitors, he said.
Businesses hope last-minute reservations from U.S. vacationers will help make up the loss in August and September.
