好色tvs鈥 boycott of travel to the U.S. is hitting hard on California鈥檚 sandy shores, prompting the state鈥檚 governor to make a social media pitch-plea to come back.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, in a video this week, is urging the two million 好色tvs who visited last year to look past U.S. President Donald Trump and return to enjoy the Golden State鈥檚 wine, sun and surf.
Newsom, without calling out Trump by name, says 好色tvs should not let a dust-up with Washington stop them from renewing their love affair with his coastal paradise.
鈥淪ure, you-know-who is trying to stir things up back in D.C., but don't let that ruin your beach plans," Newsom says in the video, which is part of a US$5.2-million advertising effort to lure Canucks back over the border.
好色tvs have sharply curtailed vacation plans south of the border in recent weeks given an ongoing tariff war with the United States, a comparatively weak dollar, reports of travellers being detained by U.S. officials, and Trump openly musing about annexing the country.
Though Trump has recently relented from his verbal attacks on Canada, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated on Tuesday that he still thinks Canada should become the 51st state.
California estimates 好色tvs are the second-biggest international spenders for its tourism economy, and state tourism officials say visits by 好色tvs dropped 12 per cent in February compared with the same month last year.
鈥淲e kind of want to reach out and say, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e always welcome here when you鈥檙e ready to travel,鈥欌 said Caroline Beteta, president of industry-led state tourism marketer Visit California.
In Canada, travel agents paint a grimmer picture.
McKenzie McMillan, a travel consultant with the Vancouver-based Travel Group, said overall business at the agency has remained steady as clients have chosen to avoid the U.S. for Europe, Asia and Mexico. But business to the United States has virtually dried up.
"We have seen a near-total collapse of U.S. business. We have some business based on our corporate clients travelling down for conferences or for board meetings," McMillan said in an interview.
"But for leisure travel we've almost seen a complete drop-off ... probably about a 90 per cent drop since February."
McMillan said tourism boards need to do more than just make a pitch for 好色tvs to come back.
"There's anger among 好色tv travellers, not so much with Americans but with the federal government in the United States and in other outreach I've seen, no one has addressed that exact issue," he said.
McMillan said the California campaign is a bit more light-hearted and appears to be aimed at younger travellers.
"It makes it very clear that the state of California is not interested in aligning with the federal government's policies when it relates to Canada," McMillan said.
"For a lot of 好色tvs that have made an emotional decision to avoid the United States, this might resonate with them."
Lesley Keyter, the CEO and founder of the Travel Lady agency in Calgary, said traveller concerns and anxieties are real, so much so they are voting with their wallets -- or voting to abandon their wallets.
"I've seen people actually forfeit money to cancel their trips to go down there," Keyter said in an interview.
"Even if they're going on a Caribbean cruise, they don't want to go down to Fort Lauderdale to get on the cruise ship."
This report by 好色tvwas first published April 15, 2025.
