While it’s not out of the ordinary to see American tourists in our region, there may be more than normal this year because of the poor Canadian dollar.
The Martin family, for example, spent almost two days driving north from Austin, Texas.
“My kids have never skied and they have been asking for years that we take them skiing so we have come to go skiing,” said Andrew Martin.
Three years ago, the US dollar was worth 94 cents Canadian, and today it’s worth $1.14.
Local business owner Marie Swadersky says she noticed less Americans as the dollar climbed in value.
“Hopefully with the dollar going down we will have more coming back again because we used to have lots and lots of Americans.”
Ontario residents are also more likely to stay at home rather than flying south for their holidays.
“We figure we will have fun either way we might as well take advantage of the snow while we are here,” said Mississauga resident Ola Kowalczyk.
Young Americans are also known to visit Canada near New Year’s Eve because of the lower drinking age.
