ALBANY, N.Y. (WCAX) – With Canadian tourism numbers dropping across our region, New York is taking action.

The Empire State is launching the I Love New York summer tourism campaign. It’s the state’s largest mobile marketing tour ever, expanding into Canada.

The governor says tourism creates $137 billion in economic impact, but it faces political and economic headwinds.

To combat that, the summer campaign targets international visitors with special attention to Canadian visitors, who make up the largest international tourist market for the state.

Senator Chuck Schumer says New York saw a 22 percent decrease in travelers crossing its northern border last year.

The decrease in April continued a trend that started in February, when visitors from Canada into the Empire State dropped below average.

According to the North Country Chamber of Commerce, 66 percent of businesses are already seeing a dip in Canadian business.

Schumer attributes the three-year tourism low to tariffs and abrasive rhetoric from the Trump administration toward Canada. He says the Senate passed a resolution ending the Canadian import tax, and the House should also pass it.

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