Brand USA’s Canada Connect West in YVR draws large attendance

A travel trade road show across western Canada by reps from five U.S. states, 12 American cities and one rail tour company ended on a successful note last week in Vancouver.

The Canada Connect West mission, by Brand USA, wrapped up with 46 travel retailers coming to the Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Downtown Hotel for a half-day of meetings with the U.S. reps. That was more than attended the events in either Montreal or Toronto during the Canada Connect East road show in late April/early May. Canada Connect West also made stops in Edmonton and Calgary prior to YVR.

The American reps were spreading the news that the United States was open for travel and tourism business, despite any setbacks the industry has encountered in recent months due to controversial policies by the U.S. government.

They did so in the face of some daunting negative American travel trends. They have all witnessed declines in travel bookings to America, to a lesser or greater degree, since the new American president took office at the beginning of 2025.

The mission mimicked the meeting format of IPW, with one key difference – that while IPW is designed to service the needs of tour operators and travel wholesalers, the Canada Connect meetings are intended specifically for frontline travel retailers. Canada Connect was launched last year with a total of 37 American reps, who made visits to Toronto, Montreal and Calgary. That was surpassed this year by the combined total at the East and West road shows.

Tributes paid to Canevari

Brand USA hosts made sure to tell attending retailers that the success of Canada Connect is a testament to the hard work of former Brand USA director of global trade development (Canada), Casey Canevari, who passed away suddenly in early May.

“We considered cancelling Canada Connect West after the sudden loss of Casey, but we knew he would want us to proceed,” said Jackie Ennis, the VP of global trade development for Brand USA, who led the western mission in his place.

She was joined in paying tribute to Canevari by the USA consul general in Vancouver, James DeHart, who delivered an opening address to the assembled product reps and travel advisors. He said he didn’t know Canevari personally, but wished he did, and acknowledged his “relentless optimism.” He also said that Canevari was especially missed during this “challenging moment,” referring to the drop in Canadian travel to the USA.

Declines in visitors from Canada

The decline in Canadian visitors was confirmed by both the American product reps and attending Canadian travel advisors. For example, travel to Oregon by Canadians is down by 27%, said Thomas Moser, the global sales manager for the Oregon Tourism Commission.

And travel advisor Myrna Bubica, the director of MCH Travel in Vancouver, reported that bookings to the U.S. by her clients are down by 75%, with cancellations factored in.

Brand USA offered further confirmation, saying it forecasts that the number of Canadians visiting the U.S. will drop by 20% this year. But even then, Canadian visitations will reach about 16 million, ensuring that Canada remains the biggest international market for the U.S., said Jennifer Tong, the senior director of international public relations for Brand USA.

Tourism bonds undiminished

The dedication to Canada by U.S. tourism interests will never diminish, said Tong, noting that the higher number of partners on the Canada Connect tour demonstrates this, and that there could have been more reps on the mission without the current political situation.

Another indication of continued tourism bonds between the two countries is the start-up of new flight services from Canada to the U.S., said Ennis. For example, flight schedules between Vancouver and Tampa Bay, Nashville and Raleigh have all been launched by Air Canada.

Bubica of MCH Travel reported that some of those clients who had cancelled trips to America were instead booking vacations to Mexico. She regards this shift in traveller intentions as an opportunity, advising agents that they should try to find any potentially positive aspects in the current challenges facing the travel retail industry.