The decline is likely to come from people deciding among their social networks to boycott the U.S. as they map out their future vacation plans, Vanderlubbe anticipated. Canadian residents returning by air from the United States in April totalled 582,700, down 19.9 per cent from a year ago, even as return trips from overseas went up. The change came as overall Canadian-resident return trips by air edged down 1.7 per cent to 1.8 million as return trips from overseas countries rose 9.9 per cent compared with April 2024. Overall international arrivals, including both Canadian residents and non-residents, by air and automobile totalled 4.5 million in April, down 15.2 per cent from the same month last year, Statistics Canada said. Flight Central is seeing similar drops in bookings to the U.S. among its clients. Bookings to the U.S. in April declined 53 per cent at the travel agency, said Amra Durakovich, spokeswoman for Flight Central Travel Group Canada. But she said she doesn't think the decline signals a permanent pullback. "It's more a recalibration," Durakovich said. "The fact is that once there's uncertainty, that definitely impacts travel demand." Durakovich said Canadians are looking to Europe, Asia and South America. She said there are a higher number of bookings to Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Colombia. Canadian airlines are also watching the travel trends closely. In March, Air Canada reduced flights by 10 per cent to Florida, Las Vegas and Arizona — usually go-to hot spots during spring break season. Competitors WestJet, Flair Airlines and Air Transat made similar moves. Last week, Air Canada also announced a 16 per cent capacity increase into Latin America starting in October. "What we're seeing is Canadians — they're really travelling with more intention," Durakovich said. "If they're going to go to the U.S., they're simply going to go, but those who don't want to go, they're just not going." — With files from Christopher Reynolds in Montreal.