Canadian Tourism

• When Canadian citizens take holidays, they have options from coast to coast across one of the largest and most varied countries in the world. However, when the Canadian dollar rises, Canadian tourists have incentives to take holidays outside of the country instead of spending money within Canada. Holidays across the rest of the world to exotic destinations become much more affordable as the Canadian dollar rises. This takes a domestic bite out of the Canadian tourism industry.
  
  

International Tourism

• International travelers simply have more affordable options than Canada when it comes to plotting a holiday destination if the dollar is at a high level. Anyone that does comparison shopping when planning a vacation will see the benefits of vacationing to a country where the local currency is weak. In 2008, a report by the Canadian Tourism Industry projected that the travel deficit between spending by Canadians in other countries and by internationals in Canada would continue to spread as long as the dollar remained about 95 cents USD, which it has done more or less constantly through the following three years.
  
  

Day Tourism

• When the Canadian dollar was low compared to the American dollar, Canada had a steady influx of day tourists coming from the United States across the border. This was especially true in Southern Ontario and BC where Toronto and Vancouver respectively are easily accessible to day travelers. However, the high dollar has made these sorts of trips and shopping across the border in Canada less appealing for American visitors.
  
  

Lack of Gains

• Many other industries can offset the dropoffs seen in international sales due to a rising dollar by buying more products abroad. The strength of the dollar allows those companies to buy materials at a reduced cost in other countries. This helps save money to counteract any drop-off in sales that might be seen. Tourism however, does not have this advantage. The vast majority of everything needed in the tourism industry is by definition located within Canada, so the rising dollar hurts sales without providing a balancing benefit.