Fewer Canadian Snowbirds Are Booking South Florida for a Second Winter
Fewer Canadians are traveling to South Florida as trade friction between the United States and Canada carries into a second snowbird season, NPR reported on Oct. 1, 2026. NPR
The pullback shows in hotel bookings. In Hollywood, Florida, Quebec native Richard Clavet owns Canadian-themed hotels and motels along South Federal Highway in an area he nicknamed "Little Quebec." Clavet said the U.S.-Canada trade war that began last year caused a wave of cancellations at his properties. Other operators on the same corridor, who depend on repeat winter guests from Quebec and Ontario, reported similar losses.
Jay Gandhi, owner of the Curtis Inn & Suites in Hollywood, said he typically hosted 60 to 70 Canadian guests during snowbird season. That number fell to 50 last year. He expects about 30 this year. Snowbird season, when northerners — often retirees — spend winter in warmer states, can start as early as October and last until April. That makes early bookings a closely watched signal for hoteliers, restaurateurs and short-term rental managers.
Air capacity has tightened at the same time. Nonstop flights between Canada and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport began to decline in April of last year, according to Visit Lauderdale. They were down about 7% for that year and nearly 9% in the first six months of 2026. Statewide, Florida had an estimated 1.68 million Canadian visitors in the first half of 2026, about 270,000 fewer than a year earlier and a decline of about 14% year-over-year. NewsNation
Canadian government data point in the same direction. In January 2026, Canadian residents returned from 2.1 million trips to the United States, down 22.0% from the same month in 2025. In March 2026, Canadian residents returned from 2.6 million trips to the United States, down 6.4% from the same month in 2025. For full-year 2025, total Canadian-resident return border crossings from the United States were down 25.4% from 2024. Statistics Canada
VISIT FLORIDA, in undated research material, estimated Canadian visitation at 3.2 million, a decrease of 6.8% from 2024 and down 22.4% from 2019. The United States has long been Canadians' top travel destination, according to Canadian government data cited by NPR. Operators and tourism officials cited three overlapping drivers for the decline: the trade dispute, a weak Canadian dollar that makes U.S. travel more expensive, and new screening and identification requirements at the U.S.-Canada border. A Snowbird Advisor survey of about 4,000 members found a 12-percentage-point decline in those planning to spend the 2025-2026 winter season in the United States.
There was earlier friction as well. Ontario's leader threatened a surcharge on Canadian electricity sold in some U.S. states during the trade war. European countries and Canada issued travel advisories for the United States after some of their citizens were detained and deported by immigration officials. The U.S. Travel Association estimated that even a 10% reduction in Canadian tourism to the United States would cause a $2.1 billion drop in spending. NPR
The broader context here is one Washington and Tallahassee staffs will recognize. Canadian snowbird travel is high-volume, highly seasonal and sensitive to border policy and exchange rates. When intent drops in surveys, airlines cut flights and forward hotel bookings soften months before peak season. That sequence puts pressure on a narrow set of Florida markets and on members whose districts rely on winter tourism employment.
Looking at what this means for policy, the question is duration. A one-season dip tied to headlines can reverse. A multi-season decline tied to capacity cuts, currency weakness and changed entry procedures is harder to unwind. Florida operators are now planning for a second thin winter. Whether bookings stabilize after April will tell Congress and state officials if this is a cyclical pause or a reset in a longstanding cross-border flow.
