Americans staying away in droves (from Canada)

[Newsjock]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060817.wtravel0817/BNStory/Business/home

American visits to Canada have sunk to a record low, a government report showed Thursday.

The number of same-day U.S. travellers to Canada hit the lowest since record keeping started in 1972, Statistics Canada said. Visits from the U.S. are 7.4 per cent lower than they were a year ago.

Nor is this trend a one-month blip. In the first half of the year, visits from the U.S. hit a record low amid high gas prices, perceived hassles at the border and a strong Canadian dollar. June was the second straight month that U.S. same-day car visits touched record lows.