旅行先に米国選ばないカナダ人急増 トランプ政権に憤り

【モントリオールＡＦＰ＝時事】カナダ人のロザリー・コートさんとその両親は、過去２５年間、毎年夏に米国のメイン州で休暇を過ごしてきた。しかし、今年は国内で過ごすことを決めた。理由は、ドナルド・トランプ米大統領がカナダを５１番目の州にする意欲を示し、高関税を発動したことに対する憤りだ。このため、コートさんは他の多くのカナダ人と同様に、米国行きをキャンセルした。（写真は米フロリダ州フォートローダーデールのビーチで楽しむ人々。資料写真）
　米国はカナダ人観光客にとって最も人気のある旅行先だ。昨年、２０４０万人のカナダ人が米国を訪れ、米国旅行協会によると、その旅行は米国経済に約２０５億ドル（約３兆円）の利益をもたらし、１４万人の雇用を支えた。
　しかし、トランプ氏の「米国第一」の政策が影響し、カナダ人が米国への旅行計画をキャンセルする事例が増えており、今年は大幅に増加する見込みだ。
　コートさんは「米国の支えになりたくない。これは信条の問題だ」と述べた。
　このような考えを持つカナダ人は少なくない。世論調査会社アバカス・データの最近の調査によると、カナダ人の５６％が米国への旅行計画を変更またはキャンセルしたと回答した。
　退任間近のトランプ政権から高関税をかけられたジャスティン・トルドー前首相は、愛国心を示すために国内で旅行するよう国民に呼びかけた。さらに「カナダを選ぼう」という動画がＳＮＳで急速に拡散され、西部の雄大なロッキー山脈や、ルーシー・モード・モンゴメリの小説『赤毛のアン』の舞台となったプリンスエドワード島などを旅行先としてＰＲする動きが広まった。
　旅行代理店によると、カナダ人の旅行先は米国から欧州、カリブ海、中米、またはカナダ国内にシフトしている。
　カナダのフレア航空は、米国内へのフライト需要が減少したため、メキシコ、ジャマイカ、ドミニカ共和国行きの便を増便した。
　観光学の教授ミシェル・アルシャンボー氏は、このような傾向により「カナダ人の国内旅行は今年、記録的なレベルに達するだろう」と予測している。また、調査によると１０人中６人が国内での休暇を計画しており、異例の事態だと付け加えた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2025/03/26-20:12）

Rosalie Cote and her parents vacationed in the US state of Maine every summer for 25 years -- but this year they are staying home, incensed like many Canadians by Donald Trump's threats of annexation and tariffs.
The United States was the top destination for Canadian tourists, with 20.4 million visits reported last year by the US Travel Association, pumping some US$20.5 billion into the American economy and supporting 140,000 jobs.
But that number is expected to plummet this year as Canadians -- the targets of relentless attacks by an America First president intent on wielding tariffs as a policy tool and who speaks frequently of turning their country into the 51st state -- cancel their travel plans.
We don't want to support the United States. It's a matter of principle, explains Cote.
Romane Gauvreau cancelled her mountain biking trip to Vermont and a family vacation to Maine.
We don't want to go to a place where democracy is in danger, where people suffer great injustices, and where people are being deported, Gauvreau told AFP.
They are not outliers. A recent Abacus Data survey found 56 percent of Canadians have changed or cancelled their travel plans to the United States.
Bookings to American destinations in February alone fell 40 percent compared to the same month last year, while 20 percent of pre-existing reservations were cancelled, according to the travel agency Flight Centre Canada.
Canadians who typically spend winters in warmer southern US states, colloquially known as snowbirds and whose numbers are estimated to top one million, are also rethinking their plans.
Andre Laurent, a retired civil servant, spent half of each of the past 22 years in Florida to escape Canada's frigid winters.
But he says everything has changed and become unpleasant since the return of Trump to the Oval Office in January. And so, he decided to sell his Florida home.
I no longer felt welcomed and I even felt like I was betraying my country, he said.
Five of the six Canadians who lived in his Florida gated community also decided to leave the United States permanently.
- 'Choose Canada' -
Former prime minister Justin Trudeau, whose final days in office were marked by Trump slapping tariffs or threats of tariffs on many Canadian goods, urged his countrymen to consider vacationing closer to home to show their patriotism.
Choose Canada videos quickly spread on social media, touting Canadian destinations such as the majestic Rocky Mountains in the west or Prince Edward Island, which inspired Lucy Maud Montgomery's best-selling novel Anne of Green Gables, in the east.
Travel agencies were quick to leap on the trend.
At Nuance du monde, they no longer promote trips to the United States. We're boycotting them in light of the current situation, said company director Samy Hammadache, adding that the loss of tourism will have quite a significant impact on the US tourism sector.
Agencies are already noticing a shift in Canadian bookings to destinations such as Europe, the Caribbean, Central America, and Canada instead of the United States.
Canadian airline Flair Airlines responded to a decline in demand for flights to popular US destinations by increasing flights to Mexico, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic.
These decisions are based on market needs and demand, said Kim Bowie, director of communications for the airline said.
Tourism professor Michel Archambault predicted that the trend will see Canadian domestic tourism reach record levels this year.
He pointed to a Leger survey that found six out of 10 Canadians plan to vacation in Canada, adding that this is quite unusual.
A recent drop in the value of the Canadian dollar also made US travel less affordable.
For Cote, however, it's about standing up for Canada: We must spend money at home rather than with our neighbors who play dirty tricks on us.