The number of travellers crossing into Canada at Fort Frances has dropped by more than seven percent, or 38,847, from last year, with the most significant decrease coming from local commuters.
According to the latest numbers from Canada Customs and Immigration, the number of people coming into Canada here dropped in April, May, June, July, and August consecutively.
But while the overall number of travellers has dropped, the reduction in visitors hasn’t been apparent at the Ontario Tourist Information Centre here.
“We’ve had an excellent summer, I think,” noted manager Jane Johnstone. “It’s been a bit of a hassle with all the construction around here but it’s been a good year.”
That observation matches a breakdown of the statistics which indicate that although there was an overall drop of 7.5 percent among people crossing into Canada, few of them were tourists.
Despite that decrease, the number of visitors crossing the international bridge only has gone down 4.5 percent while the number of returning residents has dropped 12 percent.
Whether the decrease of 12 percent, or 25,601 returning residents, is due to a decrease in commuters here, a decision by Canadian travellers to choose another port of entry, or a general decrease in Canadians choosing to holiday in the U.S. can only be speculated.
But concerns that toll booth changes would keep Americans out of Canada may be unwarranted.
The new tolls may, in fact, be having the opposite effect–keeping Canadians from making as many day trips over to International Falls.
The decrease in travellers was the most significant earlier this year, then levelled out towards the end of the summer.
In April, for instance, the total number of travellers dropped by 17.9 percent compared to 0.64 percent in August, while the total number of returning residents dropped by 21.2 percent in April and 3.87 percent in August.
The number of visitors was down by 10.17 percent in April but just 1.48 percent in August.
The change in U.S. travellers crossing the bridge here may be attributed, in part, to the economy south of the border.
“I think the economy in the States isn’t bustling and I would say gas prices would affect them,” noted Johnstone.
The future of traffic on the bridge was a controversial topic last year when Boise Cascade and Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. implemented a one-way toll on the American side for people entering Canada and upped the rates.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
