With the changing of the leaves typically comes an abundance of “leaf-peeping” tourists to the Upper Valley, typically one of the busiest times of the year for local businesses. While pleasant weather and earlier-than-expected fall foliage has brought visitors to the Upper Valley, one major group — Canadians — are notably visiting in significantly fewer numbers than usual, leading to a drop in overall tourism.
President Donald Trump’s recent changes to American foreign policy, including tariffs and stricter border precautions have discouraged many Canadian tourists from travelling to the U.S., according to PBS.
Park supervisor for Mount Washington State Park Patrick Hummel said that Mount Washington has seen “noticeable decline in Canadian visitation.” The mountain is typically one of the most-visited sites in the region, with visitors from 85 different countries, Hummel said.
Canadian tourism is down 30% this year in New Hampshire, the Valley News reported.
Adirondack Mountain Club executive director Cortney Worrall said that she has also noticed how changes to Canadian tourism have affected the New England region.
“This past summer we saw a 25% drop [in visitors], and so far this fall we are seeing and expecting a 10% drop off from our usual year,” Worrall said. “We are not planning for the decrease in tourism of 20% to change in the next several years. This is expected to be more like a permanent situation.”
The New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism Development estimates that the area around Dartmouth will reach peak foliage around Oct. 12. According to a recent study by researcher Madelynn Smith at the Mount Washington Observatory in Coös County, N.H., the dry summer accelerates the season’s peak color changes.
Worrall said that the drought had brought some “ancillary benefits” to tourism because of the earlier fall colors and the sunny weather.
“You can plan your trip ahead because there's no rain in the forecast, and the trails are in better condition,” Worrall said.
On Main Street in Hanover, the owner of Records, Posters and Memorabilia New Hampshire Bryan Smith said that he has felt the change in tourism due to fewer Canadian visitors.
“Certain weekends, we’d always get a lot of Canadians coming through,” Smith said. “None of them came this year. A couple of them even emailed me, apologizing, because they weren’t coming this year and they always stopped by and bought records from me.”
Nonetheless, Smith said he is optimistic that fall tourism will continue to stay popular.
“It is a tradition that people come from around the world [to see the fall colors] and use Hanover as a ground central,” Smith said. “Within the next few weekends, there are no open hotel rooms within an hour drive of Hanover. It’s extremely popular.”
Smith said that he hopes that tourists will continue visiting to experience peak foliage.
“It is so special to go for a walk in October through the pine forest and rustling leaves,” he said. “As you walk through, you hear scurrying, and there’ll be chipmunks and squirrels, and there’s just a smell in the forest and a feel to the forest.”
