weniger touristen aus USA ist schlecht für arbeitsplätze
Zitat
At the Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum in Niagara Falls, you can see shrunken heads, a portrait carved in tree fungus, and a Statue of Liberty model made with more than 100,000 matchsticks.
One thing you don't see much of any more is American tourists.
"Back in 1999 and 2000, we had a wonderful rubber tire market, wonderful U.S. visitation," said Tim Parker, general manager of Niagara Falls attractions for Jim Pattison Group, which owns Ripley's.
Tourists from the United States used to account for up to 70 per cent of Mr. Parker's visitors. That's dropped to less than one-third.
Visits to see wax figures and oddities isn't the only tourism market that has experienced a decline. According to numbers released by Statistics Canada on Thursday, U.S. traffic across the border has plummeted in recent years.
Since 2001, the number of day trips that Americans have taken to Canada has decreased by almost 70 per cent.
And it could get worse. As of June 1, travellers are required to show a passport or secure document to cross the border - including American citizens, less than a third of whom have a passport.
"It's a huge disincentive," said Robin Ritchie, a marketing professor at Carleton University's Sprott School of Business. "I don't think we've even begun to see the effects of that. We can anticipate further downward pressure on U.S. travel to Canada."
The impact is already evident at the Peace Bridge, a popular border crossing 25 kilometres south of Niagara Falls. Since June 1, car traffic has dropped 13 per cent compared with this time last year, and almost 40-per-cent fewer buses have been rolling into Canada.
"There is both the reality and the perception that the border has become more difficult to cross," Prof. Ritchie said.
By land or by sea, it's proven bad for business. In Victoria - a big draw for Americans thanks to ferries like the Clipper and the Coho that provide a direct link to Washington State - there's "no question" that American visits have dropped over the past few years, said Ken Kelly, the general manager of the Downtown Victoria Business Association.
"People are looking at their own stay-cations," Mr. Kelly said. "I just came out of a meeting where people were discussing how to attract people to this city of ours. We want to make this destination, Victoria, more appealing."
Aside from passport regulations, security has tightened. The number of U.S. Customs and Border Protection guards stationed along the Canadian border has gone up nearly 80 per cent since 2000.
hi maxim, wir sind zwar keine touristen aus den USA, aber wir fahren nächste Woche mit dem Motorhome von Edmonton zu den Niagarafalls. Werden den tourismus wieder etwas antreiben,hihi. lg Gabi
... und zu viel Fastfood ist schlecht für die Figur...
ich bin in der Tourismusbranche tätig und habe noch keinen Unterschied in der Menge der amerikanischen Besucher feststellen können, die Zahlen sind schon seit 3 - 4 Jahren unten , was die Amis angeht... also nichts wirklich neues
Dass weniger Touristen aus den USA kommen, liegt mitunter auch daran, dass US Bürger mittlerweile einen Pass brauchen, um in CA einzureisen. So zumindest, hat es uns die Beamtin bei der Immigrationbehörde in New Brunswick erläutert.
Also hier im Okanagan ist der Tourismus um die 20% runter ... hauptsaechlich aus den USandA. Wirtschaftskriese und die neue Passregel werden auch hier verantwortlich gemacht ... obwohl die Jungs aus Washington State hier einen speziellen Fuehrerschein als Passersatz nutzen koennen.