DUNEDIN, Fla — Every year, baseball fans from across Canada travel to Dunedin to cheer on their Toronto Blue Jays during spring training. However, some of these fans say this may be their last spring visiting Dunedin because of the pending tariffs scheduled to be imposed on April 2.
“Just totally disappointed, 100 percent,” said Kim McLaren from Toronto.
Her husband Dave said this might be their last spring training visit.
“With prices going up, we’ll just stay home,” said Dave McLaren.
Analysts say a trade war could trigger a drop of almost 11 percent in travel spending. Meanwhile, a new survey warns that 30 percent of Canadians who had trips to the U.S. have already canceled them.
“If we didn’t already have a place here and already booked, I think we would have changed our mind,” said Debby Saracini from Toronto. “Why are we spending our dollar down here, supporting a country that is not supporting us, who is supposed to be our friends.”
While Saracini still made the trip, others in her family did not.
“My husband’s sister was booked to come, and she said she is not coming,” said Saracini. “I understand where she is coming from, I really do, and a lot of people feel the same way.”
These die-hard Blue Jay fans make up just a tiny portion of Canadians who visit the state. More than three million Canadians vacationed in Florida just last year alone.
“We have a hard time understanding why our neighbor through all this time is taking such an aggressive approach to Canadians and Canada. It’s just difficult for us to believe,” said Ron Schenk of Toronto.
“We feel offended, we’ve been best friends for years and now all of a sudden you declare economic war on us? What is that?” said Rick Colbert of Canada.
President Donald Trump said the reason for these tariffs is to restore fairness in global trade and to create more jobs in the United States.
“We’re ready for our visitors.”
Spring break season is back across Tampa Bay, and businesses are relying on spring break now more than ever.
