Canadian RV Park Bookings Soar as Travelers Spurn U.S. – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News
Canadian recreational vehicle resort operator Pathfinder Ventures Inc. said its bookings for April shot up 48 per cent compared with the same month last year, largely driven by a rise in domestic travel due to U.S.-Canada tensions and new U.S. registration requirements, according to a report by Meera Raman in The Globe and Mail, Canada’s National Newspaper headquartered in Toronto.
The company also said advance bookings for the coming months are already about 10 per cent higher year-over-year.
“Canadians don’t feel comfortable and don’t want to support going down to the U.S. at this time,” said Stan Duckworth, chief operating officer of Pathfinder Ventures, which operates three RV resorts in Western Canada.
But it’s not just Canadian travellers boosting business – American visitors, many drawn by the weak loonie, have contributed to the boost in bookings, Mr. Duckworth added.
Starting April 11, Canadians staying in the U.S. for 30 days or more must register with the U.S. government, unless exempt. The rule has created uncertainty among travellers and given some pause about spending extended time south of the border, said Stephen Fine, president of Snowbird Advisor, which provides services such as travel insurance and currency exchange.
Pathfinder Ventures says the surge in bookings suggests more Canadians will continue choosing local trips through the summer, and the company anticipates a boost in demand for next winter, too.
Mary Roy, 64, and her 68-year-old husband, Roland, are among the many Canadians who have decided to keep their travels domestic this year. They usually take their Airstream to the U.S. every May, visiting places such as Washington State and Alaska. But not this year.
“We decided to be among the number of people that are boycotting the United States,” Ms. Roy said. “We did some rearranging of our travel plans to just stay in British Columbia.”
Shane Devenish, president of the Canadian Recreational Vehicle Association, said that he’s heard from a number of campgrounds across Canada that they are seeing an “uptick in reservations.”
