Canadians are cancelling journeys to Walt Disney World. This isn’t speculative, it’s one thing we’ve heard from many Canada-based readers within the feedback to a number of unrelated posts. This addresses that, discussing the potential impacts on attendance and reductions if ongoing tensions proceed to boil over and end in additional boycotts of the USA.
Canada is the highest supply of worldwide guests to the USA, with 20.4 million visits in 2024, producing $20.5 billion in spending and supporting 140,000 American jobs. In accordance with the U.S. Journey Affiliation, only a 10% discount in Canadian journey might imply 2.0 million fewer visits, $2.1 billion in misplaced spending, and 14,000 job losses.
Not coincidentally, the highest 5 most visited states by Canadians are Florida, California, Nevada, New York, and Texas. These states might see disproportionate declines in retail and hospitality income because of this. Though it’s tough to discern what share of Walt Disney World friends are Canadian, it’s our robust suspicion that quantity can also be disproportionate. Much more importantly, worldwide guests as a complete have the best per-guest spending metrics of all friends.
Sadly, Walt Disney World doesn’t launch attendance numbers, not to mention demographic breakdowns. We do know that worldwide numbers rose 7% a few decade in the past as a result of Disney itself reported that. Estimates at the moment pegged worldwide vacationers as accounting for 18-22% of all friends to Walt Disney World.
Go to Orlando, Florida’s official tourism arm, does launch visitation numbers. It’s most likely protected to imagine that town’s numbers kind of mirror Walt Disney World’s numbers. Per these numbers, the Metropolis Stunning welcomed 6.13 million worldwide guests in 2023, a rise of 25% over 2022 numbers. Canada is Orlando’s high worldwide market, with greater than 1.2 million guests touring to Orlando in 2023, the best quantity from this market in Orlando’s historical past.
The 2023 worldwide visitation numbers symbolize 94% of pre-pandemic (2019) ranges, with Canada, U.Okay. and Brazil remaining the highest three worldwide origin markets to Orlando. For many who are curious, right here’s the country-by-country breakdown:
- Canada: 1,256,000 (↑ 46%) – All-time record-breaking visitation quantity
- United Kingdom: 877,000 (↑ 8%)
- Brazil: 696,000 (↑ 21%)
- Mexico: 432,000 (↑ 10%)
- Colombia: 302,000 (↑ 5%)
Whereas Go to Orlando hasn’t but launched 2024 information (2023’s numbers had been launched final Might, so we now have just a few months), they predicted an ongoing enhance thanks partly to–I child you not–Nation Bear Musical Jamboree. (It’s only one level on a really lengthy record, however I’ll take it. The Canadians have spoken, and so they love singing bears! My individuals.)
We will infer that projections of one other record-setting 2024 for journey to Orlando from Canada are most likely correct because of month-to-month information from the Larger Orlando Aviation Authority.
The GOAA reviews that worldwide site visitors at Orlando Worldwide Airport (MCO) was up 11.7% year-over-year in 2024, whereas home journey was down 2.6%. That is according to expectations about lagged pent-up demand for worldwide journey coinciding with an exhaustion of the identical for home journey. (It’s the identical cause Disney Cruise Line continues to outperform–or at the least, one of many causes.)
With out doing a deep dive, information on the proportion of passengers by MCO from Canada shouldn’t be available, however there’s no cause to imagine it materially deviates from the above. You’ll be able to most likely take that 1.25 million quantity, enhance it by 10%, and have a reasonably good back-of-napkin estimate of Canadian vacationers to Orlando in 2024.
Making a bunch of assumptions given all the above, we are able to most likely take {that a} step additional and conclude that roughly 3% to six% of Walt Disney World friends come from Canada. This may increasingly not seem to be a lot, however once more, remember the fact that their length of go to is nearly assuredly effectively above-average (which means they account for greater than 3-6% of park attendance and resort occupancy) as are Canadian per visitor spending metrics.
It’s inconceivable to attract credible conclusions, however I wouldn’t be in the least stunned if Canadians accounted for ~7% of attendance and ~10% of visitor spending at Walt Disney World final 12 months. That’s a not-insignificant quantity!
It’s pretty protected to say that the variety of Canadians visiting the USA, Orlando, or Walt Disney World goes to lower in 2025.
It’s not a lot a matter of if, however by how a lot. The U.S. Journey Affiliation numbers above had been predicated on a ten% drop–however that wasn’t a prediction of solely a ten% lower. Extra an illustration of what every 10% would imply in actual phrases.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged residents to spend domestically as a substitute, stating: “Now could be the time to decide on Canada…It’d imply altering your summer season trip plans to remain right here in Canada and discover the numerous nationwide and provincial parks, historic websites and vacationer locations our nice nation has to supply.”
A refrain of different Canadian leaders have echoed this sentiment, and it’s not simply them. There seems to be a web-based grassroots motion to shift spending from the USA to Canada.
Polling reveals souring sentiment amongst Canadians in direction of the USA, client backlash in opposition to American merchandise, and widespread anecdotal reviews of cancelled summer season holidays to the U.S. by Canadians.
For its half, Calgary-based WestJet says demand for journey to the USA has been “mushy” over the previous couple of weeks. “What we now have seen although, because the tariff bulletins, is that our gross sales from Canada into the U.S. have really dropped very considerably,” mentioned Alexis von Hoensbroech, WestJet’s chief government officer.
The lower in curiosity to fly south has dropped by about 25%, WestJet reported, including the trade fee possible has one thing do with the falling demand as effectively. Different Canadian carriers have indicated that they’re monitoring the scenario and will scale back or reallocate capability away from key U.S. markets (together with Florida).
Flight Centre, Canada’s largest journey company, instructed Forbes it has seen “a surge of shoppers” already canceling U.S. holidays and rebooking elsewhere, “together with bucket-list and milestone experiences valued at over $10,000 CAD.”
Along with politics, the U.S. greenback (USD) is strengthening because the Canadian greenback (CAD) is weakening.
For the reason that starting of final October, the CAD has already weakened about 5%, damage by commerce uncertainty in addition to a rising hole between U.S. and Canadian rates of interest. The Financial institution of Canada chopping charges quicker than the U.S. Federal Reserve, and the Canadian 2-year be aware yield has fallen about 160 foundation factors under its U.S. counterpart, the most important hole since September 1997.
On high of that, there’s the likelihood–if not likelihood–that pent-up demand amongst worldwide vacationers will begin working its course in 2025 even within the absence of the above. This has been the trajectory in all different instances, and it’s exhausting to think about sustained development fueled by overseas revenge journey would proceed into 2025.
A technique or one other, it’s most likely honest to foretell that worldwide visitation to Walt Disney World will, at minimal, decelerate. The bottom case is that it’ll drop barely.
The worst case is {that a} plunge amongst Canadians will exacerbate a extra important general drop in attendance that’s in any other case pushed by a mix of worldwide pent-up demand exhausting itself, Common’s Epic Universe opening, and extra cost-conscious shoppers trading-down for cheaper holidays. All of those different components are largely past the scope of this submit, however we do anticipate them to happen to various levels.
Assuming all of this–and even a few of it–unfolds as anticipated, Walt Disney World must pull a few of its many “levers” to entice friends to return. This might are available just a few types.
One in every of these we already find out about, which is extra new leisure–the stage reveals in DHS and Disney Starlight Evening Parade in Magic Kingdom. However our hope and expectation is that Walt Disney World has one thing extra up its sleeve for Animal Kingdom and EPCOT that’ll encourage attendance.
One other shall be making an attempt to draw extra of the so-called “unfavorable” friends–Florida residents, Disney Trip Membership members, and Annual Passholders. The sensible actuality is that’s rather a lot less complicated than making an attempt to lure again Canadians. This might embody reductions and different incentives–a extra aggressive type of the playbook we’ve seen over the past couple of summers.
Talking of reductions, that’s an apparent reply and there are a few approaches right here that Walt Disney World may take. The primary is to supply aggressive focused particular provides to Canadians. Try to beat their anxieties about touring to the USA, present that Disney cares and values them, and assist bridge the hole on the trade fee. Principally, make them a suggestion they will’t refuse and show that they’re welcome at Walt Disney World. A very good transfer not only for the short-term achieve, however as a longer-term goodwill gesture.
The opposite strategy is changing the misplaced Canadians with a comparable higher-spending demographic that’ll be simpler to seize. On this case, Walt Disney World might chase a distinct worldwide market. The issue right here is that summer season is only some months away, and most households don’t make worldwide journey plans on this in need of discover. As such, a extra sensible different is perhaps releasing reductions to home friends that take pricier journeys and should be enticed with particular provides.
The demographic to focus on right here can be younger households with youngsters. Walt Disney World needing to do extra to keep away from pricing out households is one thing we mentioned at size in Disney Responds to Rising Prices Criticism. Rising prices for center class households has develop into a scorching matter, and I wouldn’t be in the least stunned to see Walt Disney World tackle that by rolling out new particular provides with discounted trip packages aimed toward this demo.
Reductions like this have been provided previously: “Disney’s Child-Sized Deal” and “Play, Keep & Dine” and “Children Play & Dine for 50% Off.” One thing like that, however extra aggressive. This might kill two birds with one stone–addressing criticism and changing misplaced worldwide vacationers with households that may spend extra on packages, even discounted ones, than different home demographics.
In the case of crowds, we might not anticipate a lot of a noticeable affect solely resulting from Canadians.
As famous above, roughly 3% to six% of Walt Disney World friends come from Canada. If half of these friends cancel journeys (which is a considerably greater estimate than any out there information reveals), that’s solely a small blip. Unseasonable climate or atypical trip breakdowns can be extra noticeable to friends with regards to wait instances or the notion of crowds.
This isn’t to say crowds at Walt Disney World will solely be down ~1.5% or by low single-digits this summer season. Our present expectation is extra of a drop, save for at Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The ‘downside’ is that there shall be a number of contributing components for any lower in crowds, and it’s inconceivable to isolate every trigger. Folks will make no matter assumptions affirm their very own biases. Common followers will attribute it solely to Epic Universe, Canadians will level to their boycott, and so on.
A few concluding notes. First, we’ve acquired just a few questions from Canadians who’ve considerations about touring to the USA on the premise of how Individuals may deal with them. Nicely for starters, Individuals most likely gained’t know you’re Canadian. As somebody who grew up in a border state, I’ve by no means been in a position to inform the distinction between a Canadian and a Yooper (ditto Minnesotans).
For the sake of dialogue, let’s say that you simply’re going to decorate like a Mountie, put on a moose hat, and drape your self within the Canadian flag. Nobody will care. You may get feedback in assist or little jabs with the identical played-out dad jokes you’ve most likely heard, however the identical would’ve been true a 12 months in the past. Most Individuals love our neighbors to the north, and think about feedback like that as a lighthearted sibling-type rivalry.
Nevertheless, it’s apparent that this can be a rather more heated matter for Canadians and considered very in another way. That a lot grew to become abundantly clear from watching the 4 Nations Face-Off. In truth, that’s what impressed this submit, as these hockey video games have made apparent this isn’t the traditional kind of dynamic we’ve seen with home journey to California or Florida turning into extra politically-tinged lately. That is private, and a number of Canadians will cancel journeys due to that.
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