Is Toronto about to become the new Big Apple? Will Edmonton eclipse Houston? And is Vancouver now cooler than Seattle? In other words, is Canada about to annex a chunk of the US tourism industry?
A year ago that notion would have been preposterous. In 2023 some 5.1 million British tourists arrived in America while just 730,000 landed in Canada. But this year tour operators predict a significant swing to the north of the border.
“Canada holidays combine some of the world’s most appealing cities and spectacular landscapes with incredible wildlife encounters,” James Ferdinando of Trailfinders said. “With the value of the pound the highest it has been against the Canadian dollar since 2016, we predict we’ll see an increased demand in bookings to Canada.”
Mike Collins, managing director of the tour operator Canadian Sky, agreed, saying: “We expect a 10 per cent rise in bookings to Canada this year as more UK travellers look for alternatives to the US.”
The Canadian authorities are far too polite — or cautious — to promote their nation as an alternative to the US, but they seem to like the idea. “Canada has a long-standing reputation as friendly, open and welcoming,” said Marsha Walden of the government-owned tourism marketing organisation Destination Canada. “Global perception of our nation remains highly positive, and this, coupled with a more favourable exchange rate, provides a perfect opportunity for Canada to win the hearts of international travellers in 2025.”
• Read our full guide to Canada
That exchange rate is enticing. American destinations are the most expensive out of the 47 surveyed in the Post Office’s 2025 Holiday Costs Barometer, with a sample basket of typical holiday purchases, including drinks and meals, costing £168 in New York. Over the border in Toronto it was £93, and our analysis shows Canadian hotels to be up to 46 per cent cheaper than those in the US.
But if UK travellers really are looking for alternatives, it’s not because America is too expensive; it’s because it really doesn’t seem so welcoming these days — and it’s by no means certain that we’ll even get through the door.
• Discover our full guide to North America
Would the proposal to expand the number of nations whose citizens are ineligible for visa-free travel to America to 43 — to include Antigua, Bhutan, Dominica and St Lucia — mean that people who have visited those nations would also be ineligible, as per the present ruling? The US government declined to respond to that question, so we don’t know. But for travellers it could mean having to apply for a B-1/B-2 non-immigrant visa in person at a US embassy or consulate to gain entry to America if they have visited one of the blacklisted countries within the past ten years.
Could you be turned back at the border because you laughed at the president on WhatsApp? Apparently — the French government has confirmed that one of its scientists was deported after an immigration official discovered that he had “expressed a personal opinion on the Trump administration’s research policy” on social media.
And after 28-year-old Welsh backpacker Rebecca Burke spent 19 days in a Washington state detention centre because she had the wrong visa, the UK Foreign Office is now warning “you may be liable to arrest or detention if you break the [entry] rules”.
Canada looks like an oasis of tranquillity by comparison — although that could change quickly if the Conservative Party candidate Pierre Poilievre steals the country’s snap election on April 28. But can it ever really match the oomph of America?
According to data from the Advantage Travel Partnership (ATP), which represents independent travel agents in the UK, the bestselling US destinations are New York, Orlando, Las Vegas and Nashville. These cities offer, respectively: shopping and showbiz; theme parks; big-ticket concerts; and music heritage.
In New York this week you can choose from 32 shows on Broadway and 42 in other theatres, and see stars such as George Clooney, Nicole Scherzinger and Paul Mescal. In Toronto eight shows are playing, and there’s no one in them you’d recognise.
The main theme parks in Orlando — Disney World, Universal Studios, SeaWorld and Legoland — offer 397 rides and attractions between them. Canada’s Wonderland, just north of Toronto, has an impressive 200, but whose kids are clamouring to be taken to Ontario?
The alternative to Nashville is Merritt in British Columbia, population 7,274 and the country music capital of Canada. The only live music this weekend is at the appropriately named Tumbleweed Lounge. And as for Vegas? Well, no other country has anywhere like Vegas.
But while Canada cannot compete with the US for top-dollar attractions, its highways, railways and outstanding natural beauty are far superior to anything south of the border.
America’s Route 66 — which turns 100 next year — is just a pot-holed ghost for most of its 2,448-mile length. The Trans-Canada Highway, on the other hand, is a genuinely spectacular road trip covering 4,860 miles from St John’s in Newfoundland and Labrador to Victoria in British Columbia. And since the Pacific Coast Highway in California is closed because of landslides, you could try the Cabot Trail, around the top of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia — the views, locals and food are better.
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The same can be said for the railways. Via Rail’s four-night, 2,775-mile trip from Toronto to Vancouver aboard The Canadian would be the most magnificent railway trip in the Americas — were it not for the same company’s two-night journey under the northern lights from Winnipeg to Churchill, where you may see polar bears from the train (from £293 and £130 respectively; viarail.ca).
The US invented national parks, but the Washington DC-based National Parks Conservation Association warned this month that they’re now being “dismantled before our very eyes under the new Trump administration”. More than 4,000 staff have been laid off and plans are in place to remove barriers to drilling and mineral exploration on public lands. Expect visitor centres and loos to be closed, restricted access and long queues at the most popular sites.
Or head instead to Canada, where 133,000 square miles of wilderness are protected in 48 national parks and reserves. Jasper in Alberta is a wildly famous one; Yoho in British Columbia is the magnificently primeval one.
Analysts warn that this year will be tough for American tourism. Statistics from the US International Trade Administration show that the numbers of inbound tourists from 15 of 20 European nations were down last month when compared with February 2024, with worrying double-digit falls for Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
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A Tourism Economics report says that could lead to a $22 billion loss this year. But based on present figures it won’t be the UK’s fault — British tourist numbers were up 7 per cent, driven largely by half-term trips to Florida, according to the ATP.
The special relationship is clearly still intact for the time being. Let’s see how long it lasts.
In the meantime, Canada’s electronic travel authorisation costs just £4; apply at canada.ca.
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