Province logs February uptick in U.S. visitors

Manitoba bucked the trend of fewer visits from United States travellers in February, Statistics Canada data show.

Across the country, trips by U.S. travellers declined 5.3 per cent year-over-year. Canada’s statistical agency counted 1.1 million trips of the kind in February 2024.

Manitoba, however, saw an extra 2,165 Americans enter the province that month.

The reason is still unclear, but both Travel Manitoba and Economic Development Winnipeg pointed to tourists visiting Churchill for northern lights viewing.

“On the angling side, the ice fishing season was very strong both domestically and with U.S. visitors,” Linda Whitfield, Travel Manitoba vice-president of communications and stakeholder engagement, wrote in an email.

Non-resident angling licence sales December through March reached a new high. Americans accounted for most of the sales, Whitfield said.

Travel Manitoba tracked a 20 per cent jump in U.S. users on its website in February, when compared to the past year.

A weaker Canadian dollar could be another magnet for U.S. travel, noted Natalie Thiesen, Economic Development Winnipeg vice-president of tourism. “Some of the trends are … perhaps too early to tell, given the fluctuation in sentiment and day-to-day.”

A more accurate picture of how ongoing Canada-U.S. tensions affect travel should come in summer or fall, Thiesen said. Last week, Economic Development Winnipeg presented to city councillors, highlighting a 7.9 per cent drop in American residents’ visits by car to Canada in February.

EDW called on the city to support its tourism sector and ensure industry competitiveness with fellow Canadian cities.

In May, Winnipeg will host Rendezvous Canada, a massive trade show Canada uses to promote itself to other countries.

The U.S. contingent is an “important segment,” Thiesen said. “This is a real opportunity to position ourselves not just with U.S. tour operators, but also to diversify our opportunities.”

Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec and New Brunswick experienced declines in U.S. visitation in February, compared to the year prior. Canada saw 59,944 less visitors during the same time frame.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com