Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt of a story that was published in Woodall’s Campground Magazine’s (WCM) October issue. Industry professionals can subscribe to receive a monthly issue of WCM for FREE. To subscribe, click here.
President Trump’s trade policies and other economic issues have contributed to significant declines in Canadian reservations at campgrounds and RV resorts across the U.S. Sunbelt for the upcoming winter season.
Unfavorable exchange rates with the U.S. dollar have made travel to the United States more expensive for Canadians in recent years and further tariff enforcement has also impacted Canadian behavior.
“Many Canadian RVers have told me they won’t be coming down this year,” said Daniel Wright, a part-time assistant manager of The Springs at Borrego RV Resort & Golf Course in Borrego Springs, Calif.
“The exchange rate had already been hurting the Canadians, and we have seen in recent years folks who used to come for three to four months began shortening their seasonal travel,” Wright continued. “Then came all the disrespect and verbal abuse from the President. I had a long conversation with some Canadian friends just a couple of days ago. They love California and Borrego Springs, but they probably will not be coming down this season. Their government is explicitly discouraging folks from traveling to the U.S., and peer pressure is even stronger. Folks are being cast as unpatriotic if they travel to ‘You-Know-Who’s country.’”
Anticipating major declines in Canadian reservations as a result of Trump’s actions, some park operators have been proactively stepping up their marketing to U.S.-based snowbirds, easing the voids caused by Canadians who aren’t coming back this winter. Other park operators tell WCM they aren’t getting enough American snowbirds to fully offset their losses in Canadian business.
At the same time, some park operators tell WCM their advance reservations for next winter are down, citing softening market conditions and other factors, while others anticipate a strong winter season.
Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Campspot, whose management and reservation software is used by more than 3,000 private and public parks across the U.S. and Canada, is seeing significant shifts in winter reservation patterns.
“While some Sunbelt destinations are pacing ahead, the overall trend suggests a modest softening compared to last year’s winter season, with a shifting mix in traveler origin. Canadian visitation appears to be declining in several key states, with U.S. snowbirds filling some, but not all, of that gap,” said Michelle Hollenbeck, Campspot’s senior manager for demand generation.
Hollenbeck noted that advanced reservations for the first quarter of 2026 across Sunbelt states were down 1.8% compared to January, February and March of this year, citing reservations compiled on Campspot’s platform through Aug. 11.
“There’s variation by state,” she said, with Arizona reservations down 6.2% and Florida down 1.8%, while Mississippi and Nevada are seeing increases of 6.9% and 3.2%, respectively.
Winter bookings made by campers who live in Canada are also mixed by state, Hollenbeck said, with notable decreases in key markets, such as Florida and Texas, down 32% and 37%, respectively, while Arizona is seeing a 10% drop in Canadian bookings.
Campspot is seeing increased bookings by Canadians in Mississippi (up 117%) and California (up 50%).
“But overall,” Hollenbeck said, “the trend points to reduced Canadian volume in the larger snowbird markets.”
Hollenbeck also noted that Campspot’s share of reservations made by Canadians staying in U.S. parks during the first quarter of this year was anywhere from 2% to 12%.
“Parks can expect to see a decline in that number next year,” she said.
Campspot is actually seeing an increase in Canadian visitation to its booking platform, while Canadian reservations at U.S. parks are significantly down.
“If we look at the trends of Canadian shoppers on the Campspot platform, we are seeing 21% more reservations coming from Canadian travelers overall year to date versus the same time last year,” Hollenbeck said, adding, “Even with this 21% overall growth, we are seeing a 49% decline in reservations going to parks in the United States, and a 43% growth in reservations going to Canadian parks. Canadian travelers are traveling in Canada.”
Hollenbeck said U.S. bookings are up in several states where Canadian reservations are down, with U.S. bookings in Florida, Arizona and Nevada being up 17%, 4% and 9%, respectively.
“This suggests some level of replacement, though not a full offset in all markets,” she said.
Terra Vista Management, whose Southern California RV resorts include Campland on the Bay and Mission Bay RV Resort in San Diego and Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort & Marina in Newport Beach, is also seeing a decline both in Canadian reservations and website visits by Canadians, according to Jan Yerzik, Terra Vista’s director of marketing.
“Newport Dunes has seen a 67% decrease in Canadian snowbird visitors,” she said, noting that 31 Canadians made reservations between September 2024 and March of this year, compared to 10 Canadians who have made reservations between September of this year and March 2026.
Campland’s website traffic from Canadians has also fallen 29% this year.
“This is comparing Jan. 1 to Aug. 14, 2025, vs. the same period in 2024,” Yerzik said, adding, “Traffic from new users is down 30%. If you look at summer traffic only, June 1 to Aug. 14, traffic is down 42.5%.”
Canadian website traffic is also down 5% this year on the website for Mission Bay RV Resort.
“If you look at summer traffic only June 1 to Aug. 14, traffic is down 34.6%,” Yerzik explained.
Florida park operators said they have been hard hit by declines in their Canadian snowbird business.
Leslie Taylor-Rharbi, a Tampa, Fla.-based director for Zeman RV Resorts, which has seven RV resorts in Florida, said the loss of Canadian snowbirds is posing particular challenges.
“Overall, we’ve seen a fair number of reservations for the upcoming 2025-2026 season,” Taylor-Rharbi said in an emailed statement. “However, some locations are trending below last year’s numbers, and we’re seeing an uptick in cancellations due to personal life events. While we certainly welcome more reservations — and have availability across various resorts — it’s been particularly challenging with our Canadian guests.
“Many Canadian travelers have opted not to rebook or are holding off. Some are rebooking, but others have expressed frustration over the exchange rate, political climate and related concerns,” she added. “A common request from this group is for discounts to help offset the currency exchange challenges. Unfortunately, the market has softened, and we haven’t been able to fully backfill the loss of Canadian bookings with new domestic guests.”
Zeman RV Resorts is also seeing other factors affecting winter stays across its portfolio, Taylor-Rharbi said, including shorter seasonal stays and life events involving grandchildren, illnesses or selling their RVs, while some struggle to justify the cost of a Florida stay.
Some park operators are launching new marketing initiatives to help offset the loss of Canadian visitors.
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