Sure, here’s a rewritten version of the article:
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Okay, picture this: Anacortes. Yeah, it’s this small town up in Washington, super close to Vancouver-ish, kinda the gateway to the San Juan islands. Normally, during the summer, it’s buzzing like a beehive with tourists. But this year? Not so much.
Kaia Matheny, just a regular person like you and me, co-owns this super quirky restaurant, Adrift. Nautical theme, farm-to-table—you know the type. Anyway, she’s kinda sitting there wondering where everyone went. Especially our Canadian friends! (No shade, Canada, we love you.)
So, why the empty seats? Turns out, some trade tensions and immigration stuff is making people think twice about crossing the border. Who knew that could happen, right? Kaia mentions she noticed sales drop, like, majorly because Canadian visitors—who usually flood the place—aren’t showing up. March saw a shocking 14% drop by air and 32% on the road from Canadians, according to some tourism economics folks. Weird, huh?
Summer’s looming ahead and she’s kind of wary. Peak season, when they’re usually rolling in the dough, might be more like… rolling out the empty chairs. “Tourism won’t be what it usually is,” she noted, sounding a bit like a captain battening down the hatches of her ship. Not the mental image I expected, but fitting, given the nautical theme.
Oh, right! Big picture. Tourism’s this massive export for the U.S. Foreign visitors dropped 12% in March compared to the previous year. Europe, Asia, South America? They’re ghosting too, just like Canada. Losing tourists might suck $10 billion out of the economy. Wild numbers!
And yeah, globally, other places are doing fine with tourists. Just not the U.S. Lorraine Sileo (big name in travel research) says domestic tourism isn’t really filling the gap either. No more revenge travelers—people sick of lockdowns—anymore. It’s all a bit deflating.
Switching gears, there’s this perception (whether true or not) that foreigners are having rougher experiences at U.S. borders, with increased hassles and all that jazz. No one wants their vacation to include stress and anxiety, understandably.
Meanwhile, you’ve got these business folks like Aaron Terrazas saying small to mid-sized businesses are feeling the pinch. Profits down, optimism dwindling. Not exactly the stuff happy summer stories are made of.
And it’s not just Matheny and her restaurant. Our beloved NYC, alas, has its own economy to cushion the blow, but places like Las Vegas? It’s their bread and butter. Cities like that buckle when tourism dries up.
Anyway — wait, where was I? Oh, right, Kaia mentioned they’ve had to cut back on buying from local farms. Bummer for them too, right? It’s like this whole ripple effect.
So there it is, in all its messy, real-world glory. Tourism’s taking a hit, people feel it, and life goes on, unpredictably as ever. Maybe folks will stay busy elsewhere, or maybe, just maybe, things will turn around next year.
Who knows.
