New York State has launched the NY Loves Canada campaign, offering Canadian travellers discounts on lodging and attractions after Canadian visits fell more than 26% in 2025. Deals run through late summer, with some extending to December.
Cover image: Niagara Falls seen from the Canadian side, a top New York-Canada border attraction — photo by Saffron Blaze, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
New York State is trying to win back its most important international visitors with a discount drive. On 21 August 2026, Governor Kathy Hochul and Empire State Development launched the NY Loves Canada promotion, a collection of deals on lodging, attractions and dining aimed squarely at Canadian travellers — after Canadian visits to New York fell more than 26% in 2025 and spending by Canadian visitors dropped roughly 28% compared with 2024. The offers, gathered on the I LOVE NY website, run through the final weeks of summer in August and September, with some promotions extending through December. Savings vary by business, and several participating operators say their discounts are designed in part to offset the currency exchange rate that makes US trips more expensive for Canadians.
Canada has long been New York State's largest inbound international market, and the pullback has hit hard. "Canada is a strategic and vital ally to New York, and the state's tourism businesses are feeling the impact of fewer visitors traveling to our communities," Hochul said in the announcement. "Our message is one of love: New York loves Canada, despite whatever headwinds may challenge our fellowship."
What is the NY Loves Canada campaign?
NY Loves Canada is not a single, uniform discount. It is a state-curated marketplace of offers from participating hotels, attractions, restaurants and other tourism businesses, each setting its own promotion and expiry date. The deals are listed on a dedicated I LOVE NY landing page (iloveny.com/ny-loves-canada), and state tourism officials say participating businesses span multiple regions — including Niagara Falls, the Thousand Islands, the Adirondacks and New York City.
The state push is complemented by a separate city effort: New York City Tourism + Conventions' "Northern Neighbour Deal" — spelled the Canadian way — which bundles offers on hotels, attractions, dining and Broadway shows for Canadian visitors to the five boroughs.
Why did Canadian visits to New York fall?
The short answer, according to the state's own fiscal watchdog: politics and tariffs. A report released in April 2026 by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli found that federal tariffs and related policy actions were driving foreign travellers away, with travel from Canada to New York's border regions falling by more than 21% — nearly 3.6 million fewer visitors — and the state's exports to Canada declining by $3.8 billion.
"Federal policies are driving foreign travelers away and taking billions in tourism spending and harming our economy as exports substantially decline," DiNapoli said, warning of "tougher times" for hotels and restaurants near the Canadian border. Tourism employment fell 2.6% in the North Country and 2% in Western New York in 2025, even as it rose 1% in New York City.
The economics compound the politics. A comparatively weak Canadian dollar makes US hotels and attractions dearer, which is exactly why the NY Loves Canada discounts are framed as an exchange-rate offset. The strain sits oddly alongside the corporate side of the border, where US-Canada business travel has shown early signs of a rebound in 2026 even as leisure trips lag.
What discounts can Canadian travellers get?
The state has deliberately left the structure open: savings "vary by attraction or lodging", per the official release, rather than following a fixed percentage. In practice, travellers browsing the I LOVE NY page will find:
- Lodging offers from participating hotels and resorts across the state's vacation regions;
- Attraction discounts at sites in destinations such as Niagara Falls, the Thousand Islands and the Adirondacks;
- City packages via the Northern Neighbour Deal, covering NYC hotels, dining, attractions and Broadway;
- Varying validity windows — most deals target late-summer and early-autumn trips, with some running through December 2026.
Because each business sets its own terms, travellers should check individual offer pages for booking codes, blackout dates and expiry.
How big is the Canadian pullback across the US?
New York's slump mirrors a national trend. Statistics Canada's year-in-review of Canadian-resident travel to the United States, published in July 2026, found return border crossings from the US fell 25.4% in 2025, with July volumes down nearly a third year on year. Canadians did not stop travelling — they went elsewhere: visits to Europe rose 13.6% and to Asia 16.7%, while leisure spending on overseas destinations grew by $3.6 billion.
| Measure (2025) | Change |
|---|---|
| Canadian visits to New York State | -26% |
| Canadian visitor spending in New York | -28% |
| Canadian return border crossings from the US (national) | -25.4% |
| Canadian travel spending in the US (national) | -$3.3bn to $18.8bn |
| Total New York State visitation | +1.1% to 321 million |
| International travel to New York | -6% |
That reshuffling of demand is a familiar story in 2026: destinations that remove friction are gaining share, from China's visa-free entry surge to Japan's record inbound month in July. New York is effectively competing with those alternatives for Canadian holiday budgets.
Will Canadians respond to the deals?
The state's headline numbers give the campaign a fighting chance and a hard ceiling. Overall New York visitation actually grew 1.1% to 321 million in 2025 — domestic demand held up — while international travel fell 6%, so the problem is specific and identifiable. Discounts can blunt the exchange-rate deterrent, and border-region operators in Niagara and the North Country are the most natural beneficiaries of any thaw, given proximity for drive-market weekenders.
What discounts cannot fix is sentiment. Statistics Canada's data show the decline deepened through 2025 rather than easing, and the comptroller's diagnosis — that federal trade policy, not product quality, drove travellers away — suggests a full recovery depends on factors beyond Albany's control. For now, NY Loves Canada is best read as a goodwill gesture with a price tag attached: a signal to New York's biggest international market that, whatever the headwinds, the welcome mat is out.
Frequently asked questions
What is the NY Loves Canada campaign?
It is a New York State tourism promotion launched on 21 August 2026 by Governor Kathy Hochul and Empire State Development. Participating hotels, attractions and dining businesses across the state offer discounts to Canadian travellers, listed on a dedicated I LOVE NY web page, partly to offset the currency exchange rate.
How long do the NY Loves Canada deals last?
Most offers target the final weeks of summer, through August and September 2026, but some promotions extend through December. Each participating business sets its own terms and expiry date, so travellers should check individual offers for booking windows and blackout dates before planning a trip.
Why did Canadian visits to New York drop 26%?
New York's state comptroller attributed the decline largely to federal tariffs and related political disputes with Canada, compounded by a weak Canadian dollar. Nationally, Canadian return crossings from the US fell 25.4% in 2025, with many Canadians redirecting trips to Europe, Asia and domestic destinations instead.
Does the campaign include New York City?
Yes. Alongside the statewide NY Loves Canada offers, New York City Tourism + Conventions runs a complementary "Northern Neighbour Deal" featuring discounts on hotels, attractions, dining and Broadway shows, aimed specifically at Canadian visitors to the city.
Sources
- Empire State Development — Governor Hochul Extends Invitation to Canadian Travelers to Visit New York State
- FingerLakes1.com — New York offers Canadian travel discounts after visits fell 26%
- Office of the New York State Comptroller — DiNapoli: Federal Tariffs and Other Actions Hurt Tourism and NY Exports
- Statistics Canada — Canadian-resident travel to the United States: A year in review
- WAMC — New York State starts new Canadian tourism promotion
Post a comment