REGINA - Today, I yet again return to the topic of Canadians boycotting American tourism destinations.
But first, a disclaimer. After thinking it over, I have decided I am done with this stupid trade war and with the travel boycotts.
Yes, Trump’s tariffs are stupid, but I’ve concluded that our counter-measures are also stupid. I’m convinced we are just hurting ourselves with the counter-tariffs, which are driving prices up for products at our own stores and also reducing the variety of selection at our province’s liquor stores. Of course, the height of silliness happened when the SLGA ordered American-branded liquor off the shelves, even though these particular brands were actually made in Canada using Canadian ingredients.
That decision was quickly reversed, but it just goes to show you how goofy this has gotten. Sadly, I suspect any return to sanity from both the USA and Canada is still a long way off. This whole trade war is stupid.
And it’s gotten really stupid when it comes to travel. We’re still hearing more and more stories of Canadians refusing to spend money to travel to the USA.
Which is fine, except now they are wasting even more money to travel to places in, get this, Canada!
Seriously, the cost of flights to a place like, say, Kelowna is ridiculous. I’m due to fly out there this week and the tickets for the round trip are costing me over a thousand bucks. You can go to Vegas and back, plus hotels, for less money!
That is exactly the point I am making. Prices to travel in your own country are ridiculous. But down in the States, international tourism is down so dramatically — thanks in large measure to the White House and their antics towards anyone non-American — that I notice there are now some really good deals to travel to the ‘States. I’m noticing round trips from Regina to destinations such as Miami are running around $200 lower than they normally are.
I’m convinced these prices are in response to the travel boycotts by Canadians who want nothing to do with Trump’s home state. “Elbows up!”
Here’s my worry. If this “elbows up” stuff keeps going, we could lose our hard-won direct flights to the ‘States.
Come mid-May, United Airlines is due to resume direct flights between Regina and Denver. The route is backed by a three-year revenue guarantee by the province. But because of the Trump trade war the timing couldn’t be worse.
I now notice local folks on the message boards musing about how people now want to go “elbows up” and not support this new Denver route, in order to send a message to President Trump.
Because of this, we’ll end up with half-empty United Airlines airplanes to and from Denver, which will mean the provincial government and taxpayers will lose a fortune on its revenue guarantee.
Then the route will surely be cancelled, and Regina and Saskatchewan will be right back where we were before — cut off from civilization. “Down in the boondocks.”
How are we helping ourselves by doing this? Like I said before: trade wars are stupid, especially when we are the ones joining in with the stupidity.
Here’s something else to think about. United Airlines is based in Chicago, Illinois — a Democrat city in a deep blue state. Colorado, itself, is a blue state. And the United route to Denver is supposed to mean better connections to popular American travel destinations as New York, Boston, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, and Honolulu.
That’s right — these are all Democrat jurisdictions, in some cases very heavily.
So by boycotting this route and these connections on it, Saskatchewan residents are basically saying we are boycotting Kamala Harris. As a bonus, by boycotting WestJet’s route to Minneapolis-St.Paul we’re also boycotting Tim Walz.
Seriously, we would be spurning a bunch of places full of people who actually are with us and who sympathize with us — places where folks are as fed up as we are with the current state of affairs between our two countries.
Speaking of Kamala Harris’ home state of California, I have to laugh at the Canadian reaction to their Governor Gavin Newsom, himself a staunch Democrat. He recently put out a pitch for Canadians to come visit California, because they love Canadians in California.
The response from north of the border has been of the knee-jerk variety. “Fat chance, Governor! Elbows up!”
But think of it. They actually do love Canadians down there. Among the popular destinations in California are attractions such as Disneyland and Universal Studios. Their theme parks are owned by major Hollywood conglomerates, and they are big Democrat supporters who are hopping mad at Trump.
They’re mad that tourists from around the world are cancelling trips en masse to their expensive-to-operate amusement parks, costing them a ton of revenue. They are also mad because President Trump is now embroiled in an escalating, out of control trade war with China.
In retaliation, China is set to ban Hollywood movie releases — even though pretty much everyone in the U.S. motion picture industry actively tried to stop Trump from winning the U.S. election.
This makes “elbows up” look like canola seed in comparison.
Anyway, back to my main point. Too many Canadians are just bent on teaching all Americans a lesson, regardless of whether the state is Blue or Red. Which is good for me, because it’s reducing plane fares to the ‘States.
To keep this momentum going, I am encouraging my fellow Canadians to travel anywhere but the USA — so that I might score good deals on plane tickets and hotel rooms.
As a public service to you folks who want to avoid the USA, but who are really broken up about having to miss out on American pleasures like Disneyland or Walt Disney World, here are some good non-USA travel alternatives for you to consider:
Instead of heading east to Orlando and Disney World: go farther east to Paris, France to Disneyland Paris. Get to meet Mickey Mouse and brush up on your French skills at the same time.
Instead of heading west to Anaheim, hop on a plane further west — to Japan and Tokyo Disneyland.
As for you folks who were hoping to see movie attractions in Hollywood, why not do a guided tour of Cinecitta in Rome, Italy. Or maybe even go to Mumbai, India. I understand there’s quite a vibrant industry there.
Instead of Hawaii, head to Fiji or Tahiti. Get the exotic experience without having to go through American customs at the Honolulu airport.
Instead of Miami, head to Cuba. Why bother mingling with the Cubans in Miami when you can mingle with the Cubans in Cuba. You can even look out the window at Florida when you fly to Cuba on the airplane. As a bonus, it will also be very easy to avoid buying American products down there. “Elbows up!”
Instead of New York, go to Toronto. Heck, that city is big and full of traffic and has tall buildings, and even has a major league baseball team. It’ll feel just like New York anyway.
Instead of Denver, go to Calgary. Trust me, it’s the exact same experience, next to the rocky mountains.
And instead of crossing the border to North Dakota — you might as well stay home in Saskatchewan. Because, let’s face it, both places look exactly the same.
