NYC Hotels Back City Council Resolution as Trade War With Canada Drives Top Tourism Partner Away

NEW YORK, NY (10/09/2026) (readMedia)-- The Hotel Association of New York City (HANYC) is voicing its support for City Council Member Lincoln Restler's new resolution affirming support for Canada amid Washington's harmful trade war with one of the city's greatest tourism partners and top hotel markets. Hotels are the backbone of New York City's tourism economy, accounting for more than 25% of total visitor spending. But the ongoing trade war with Canada is keeping our neighbors to the north away-threatening the livelihoods of 40,000 hotel workers, 400,000 hospitality workers and thousands of small and minority-owned businesses, restaurants, bars and cultural institutions that depend on a thriving hotel industry.

HANYC has been sounding the alarm about the devastating impacts of these escalating trade wars, which contributed to a 26% drop in Canadian visitation and 28% drop in Canadian spending last year. In just one month, city hotels lost up to 15% in Canadian bookings. And industry experts now caution that it could take years for Canadians to return to the U.S. This massive hit compounds the city's wider tourism struggles: 400,000 fewer international tourists-who spend four times as much as domestic tourists-visited the city last year than the year before, with overall visitation trailing 2019 by 1.6 million.

In addition to encouraging City Hall to support this resolution, HANYC is calling for relief from the City to help draw Canadian and other essential visitors back to our city, who, on top of trade wars and other immigration restrictions, are increasingly choosing other destinations that are more affordable.

"We commend Council Member Restler and his colleagues for recognizing the urgent need to protect New York City's tourism economy and the workers and businesses that depend on it with this resolution," said Vijay Dandapani, President and CEO of the Hotel Association of New York City. "Canadian visitors are essential to our hotel industry and all of the industries that depend on it. We cannot afford to lose more visitors from one of our most important international markets, and the City must do everything it can to give travelers a reason to come back, including providing our vital hotel industry with much-needed relief rather than additional burdens. If we fail to act, New York risks losing even more economic activity our sector depends on."

City hotels are already contending with ongoing headwinds from rising costs and inflation, and the drop in indispensable visitors from Canada and broader international tourism is taking a serious toll on an industry still recovering from pandemic losses. Hotels now have 12.9% fewer hotel workers than 2019, with hotel occupancy continuing to lag behind pre-pandemic levels for every month this year with the exception of January, where occupancy was only by one point. The revenue per available room (RevPar) and average daily rate (ADR), when adjusted for inflation, are still down as well.