ORLANDO, Fla. – President Donald Trump announced a slew of tariffs on Wednesday, leaving many wondering how this will impact the economy.
A U.S. Travel Association report says the tariffs could lead to financial changes in the tourism industry.
Recommended Videos
The February report revealed tariffs on Canada could deter Canadians from visiting the U.S.
“A 10% reduction in Canadian travel could mean 2 million fewer visits, $2.1 billion in lost spending and 14,000 job losses,” the report reads.
In 2023, over 1.2 million Canadians visited Orlando, according to the tourism group Visit Orlando. Last month in a county meeting, Visit Orlando CEO Cassandra Matej said her team is eyeing any impacts of tariffs on travel as well.
“Escalated trade war could push higher inflations, so we’re watching all these factors and how they may impact overall travel within the U.S. as well as Central Florida,” Matej said.
That may not be the case for every county. Visit Central Florida spokesperson Jack Cormier said his team will not see tariffs impacting tourism around Winter Haven and Polk County.
Cormier mentioned how, unlike Orlando, most of its tourism is based around sports. He said they bring in around 380 events a year, allowing a pretty stable model for economic prosperity.
“So far, we’re not forecasting any major changes, but we will, you know, keep an eye on the markets and the way people flow and adjust accordingly,” Cormier said.
To add on, he said the Canadian market is roughly 3% of its tourism market — but they were going to try and grow this number.
“It is an emerging market for us. It’s one that actually we have some initiatives this year to go into that market, so that had to be paused while everything is sort of sorted out,” Cormier said.
Overall, Cormier said that with Florida already establishing itself as a vacation destination, he does not expect Trump’s tariffs to impact tourism here.
“Tourism is the major industry of Florida. We are known as the Sunshine State and the vacation getaway for the rest of the world for a reason,” Cormier said. “Starting all the way back in Winter Haven at Cypress Gardens with Dick Pope, it was sort of the marketing that stamped the vacation getaway on Florida’s back in the 40s and 50s. So, with a reputation like that, I think we’ll be OK. “
Meanwhile, the CEO of the development group Orlando Economic Partnership, Tim Giuliani, told Orange County leaders on March 25 that there is a lot of uncertainty of economic impacts on tariffs in any sector right now.
“There is so much uncertainty around tariffs; it is clearly an important issue, but there is so much uncertainty there is no way to know yet. There are businesses that we talked to that are certainly worried about what that’s going to mean for them,” Giuliani said. “But we will be tracking it and watching it, but it is too early to tell what the impacts will be because one day there are tariffs, the next day they are recalled and the next day something different has happened.”
