New York Launches ‘NY Loves Canada’ Deals as Travel Falls
With Canadian visits down sharply, New York is offering lodging, attraction and dining discounts to welcome its northern neighbors back.
New York is making a direct appeal to its neighbors to the north. Governor Kathy Hochul announced the NY Loves Canada promotion Friday, Aug. 21, offering Canadian travelers discounts on hotels, attractions, restaurants and other experiences across the state after Canadian visitation to New York dropped more than 26% last year.
The campaign is more than a tourism slogan. Canadian travelers have long represented New York’s largest international visitor market, and state officials say communities — especially those near the border — are feeling the economic impact of fewer visitors.
What Is the NY Loves Canada Promotion?
NY Loves Canada is a statewide I LOVE NY tourism campaign offering special savings and travel opportunities to Canadian visitors.
The promotion includes limited-time deals on:
- Hotels and other lodging
- Restaurants and dining
- Tourist attractions
- Outdoor recreation
- Cultural destinations
- Other vacation experiences
Most offers are aimed at travel during the final weeks of August and into September, although some promotions continue through December, according to the governor’s office. Discounts vary by participating business.
The I LOVE NY site allows visitors to browse offers by tourism region, including Central New York, the Adirondacks, Thousand Islands-Seaway, Finger Lakes, Greater Niagara and Hudson Valley, among others.
That statewide approach could matter to communities in and around the Mohawk Valley. Canadian travelers driving through New York can reach destinations ranging from Cooperstown and Central New York to the Adirondacks, Thousand Islands and Niagara region.
Canadian Travel to New York Fell Sharply
The campaign comes after a difficult year for cross-border tourism.
According to figures released by the Hochul administration:
- Canadian visitation to New York State dropped more than 26% in 2025.
- Spending by Canadian visitors dropped 28% compared with 2024.
- Overall visitation to New York still increased 1.1% to 321 million visitors.
- International visitation overall declined 6%.
Those figures reveal an important distinction. New York’s broader tourism industry continued attracting visitors, but international tourism — and especially travel from Canada — weakened.
That matters because Canadian tourism has historically been particularly important to communities across northern and western New York.
“Canada is a strategic and vital ally to New York, and the state’s tourism businesses are feeling the impact of fewer visitors traveling to our communities,” Hochul said in announcing the initiative.
She added that New York wants Canadians to understand that they remain welcome in the state.
Why New York Is Targeting Canadian Visitors
Tourism is a major part of New York’s economy.
Official state tourism figures previously reported that New York welcomed 315.4 million visitors in 2024, with visitors spending approximately $94 billion directly and generating an estimated $145 billion in total economic impact. Tourism supported an average of about 924,000 jobs that year, according to Empire State Development tourism materials.
That makes even a relatively modest shift in international visitation potentially important to hotels, restaurants, attractions, shops and seasonal businesses.
New York has been working for more than a year to reinforce its tourism relationship with Canada.
State tourism officials previously conducted outreach in Montreal and Toronto, met with travel agents and tour operators, and promoted a message that Canadian residents would continue to be welcomed in New York despite broader political or economic tensions between the two countries.
The state has also used Canadian advertising, digital campaigns, trade missions and tourism-industry partnerships to encourage cross-border visits.
Discounts May Help Offset Exchange-Rate Costs
Cost is one reason the new campaign emphasizes discounts.
The governor’s office said several participating businesses are offering reduced prices partly to offset currency exchange pressures facing Canadian travelers.
For Canadian families considering a weekend getaway, even relatively small savings on hotel rooms, meals and attractions can change the overall cost of a trip.
New York City has launched a similar effort.
Its Northern Neighbour Deal runs from Aug. 18 through Sept. 7 and includes 30% discounts at dozens of participating hotels, attractions, restaurants, Broadway shows and cultural institutions. Porter Airlines also announced discounts of up to 20% on eligible New York itineraries under that initiative.
New York City tourism officials forecast roughly 820,000 Canadian visitors in 2026, making Canada the city’s second-largest international visitor market.
Central New York Could Benefit From More Cross-Border Travel
Although border communities may feel the effects most directly, the effort is not limited to Niagara Falls or the North Country.
The NY Loves Canada website specifically includes Central New York as a searchable region for travel offers. The state’s tourism site also highlights Cooperstown as one of several destinations suited to short trips, pointing visitors toward attractions such as the National Baseball Hall of Fame and area cultural destinations.
For Central New York and the Mohawk Valley, additional Canadian tourism can mean spending at:
- Hotels and short-term lodging
- Restaurants and cafes
- Museums and historic attractions
- Local retailers
- Festivals and entertainment venues
- Outdoor recreation businesses
- Gas stations and transportation services
Tourism dollars often spread well beyond the attraction that originally brought a visitor into the area.
A Welcome Message Amid Cross-Border Tensions
There is also a diplomatic element to the campaign.
Rather than framing the decline simply as a marketing problem, state officials have repeatedly emphasized the long relationship between New York and Canada.
“New York and Canada are neighbors by geographic destiny, but we are friends by choice,” Hochul said.
Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight similarly pointed to generations of trade, travel and cultural ties between New York and Canada.
The language is deliberate. New York officials appear to be trying to separate the state’s relationship with Canadian residents from broader disputes that can influence travel sentiment.
Whether that message will reverse the decline remains uncertain. Discounts can make travel cheaper, but travelers also make decisions based on currency values, border policies, political sentiment, transportation costs and their overall confidence about visiting the United States.
The success of the campaign therefore will ultimately be measured not by the number of promotions offered but by whether Canadian travelers return.
Tourism Officials Have Been Watching the Trend
Concerns about Canadian visitation did not begin this week.
State tourism officials had previously reported weaker bridge crossings from Canada and softer inbound air travel, while acknowledging that some international visitors were canceling trips. At the same time, hotel demand remained comparatively resilient and tour operators continued reporting interest in New York vacations.
The picture, in other words, has been mixed.
New York’s Olympic Authority also reported record overall attendance of more than 1.2 million visits during the 2025-26 fiscal year, even as officials noted softer Canadian travel patterns.
That is why the new promotion should not be interpreted as evidence that New York tourism as a whole has collapsed. Overall state visitation rose in 2025.
The problem is more specific: one of New York’s most important international markets experienced a significant decline.
What Canadian Travelers Should Know
Canadians considering a New York visit can search the official I LOVE NY NY Loves Canada page for participating offers.
The program covers multiple regions and categories, and individual expiration dates vary. Travelers should check the terms of each promotion before booking.
New York businesses and attractions that want to participate are being directed to contact their regional Tourism Promotion Agency.
The Bottom Line
The NY Loves Canada campaign is both an economic initiative and a public welcome sign.
New York recorded overall tourism growth in 2025, but the steep decline in Canadian travelers presents a challenge for communities and businesses that have historically depended on visitors crossing the northern border.
Discounts alone may not restore those travelers. But by pairing savings with a clear message that Canadians remain welcome, New York is trying to rebuild one of its most important tourism relationships.
For Central New York communities, that effort is worth watching. More Canadian visitors do not benefit only famous destinations such as Niagara Falls or New York City. Their spending can reach restaurants, hotels, museums, shops and attractions throughout Upstate New York.
Residents and tourism businesses can help by promoting local destinations, events and attractions that give travelers another reason to explore beyond the state’s traditional gateways.
Sources
- New York Governor’s Office, Aug. 21, 2026.
- I LOVE NY, NY Loves Canada promotion.
- Empire State Development tourism materials.
- NYC Tourism + Conventions Northern Neighbour Deal.
