As Canadians increasingly choose to skip travel to the United States amid the trade war and spend money at home, new data from AirBnB and travel experts is offering a glimpse of which domestic locations may be seeing the biggest bump in bookings from that shift in travel habits.
During the first half of 2025, there was a 10 per cent increase in Canadians booking within the country compared to the same period a year prior, according to the company.
This comes after Statistics Canada reported on Aug. 25 that during the first quarter of 2025 (January through March), Canadian residents took 77.4 million trips within Canada and abroad, which is up 1.3 per cent from the same quarter in 2024.
Earlier this month, Statistics Canada had also reported that the number of Canadians travelling to the U.S. dropped for the seventh straight month.
While that data recorded the decline in border crossings, it hadn’t offered insight into where Canadians who choose to travel at home are going.
According to the data from AirBnB, bookings in Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Saskatchewan all saw growth of more than 20 per cent in the first half of 2025 compared to the first half of 2024.
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AirBnB noted it isn’t just major urban hubs that are driving the demand for travel — it’s also smaller towns and rural communities.
Some of the specific trending destinations within Canada that stood out included West Kelowna, B.C.; Blue Mountain, Ont.; Regina, Sask.; Gatineau, Que.; and Canmore, Alta.
The company says Canadians trending to prefer more domestic and non-U.S. destinations abroad represents a “seismic shift” that may only just be getting started.
Other travel and tourism companies say they have been seeing similar trends.
“More and more Canadians are actually traveling domestically — we’ve seen a five per cent increase from the previous year, and we believe the pattern is shifting from U.S. into domestic travel, and indeed further abroad,” says head of communications Amra Durakovic at Flight Centre Canada speaking to Global News.
“Canadians, this summer, what we’ve noticed is that they love nature-driven destinations. So our top three — think Banff, Halifax, and Victoria are the top right now.“
When it comes to travelling abroad, more and more Canadians continue to look away from the United States as a destination, with the ongoing trade war and tariffs souring the sentiments of many.
In addition, the Canada Strong Pass launched in July was promoted as an incentive for Canadians to explore more that Canada has to offer by granting free admission and reduced camping fees at national parks, as well as discounted or reduced admission for younger Canadians to some galleries, museums, as well as tickets for Via Rail.
“Typically, Canadian visitors make up 50 per cent of our summer guests in Banff and Jasper. In Banff alone, our Canadian guests have increased over 10 per cent this summer in comparison to last year,” says David Barry, CEO and president at Pursuit Attractions and Hospitality.
“Banff and Jasper National Parks are global travel destinations, and we’ve seen an increase in international travellers, including Americans, choosing to explore Canada.”
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