Nathaniel Beliveau, 10, of Montreal, Quebec, on the Wildwood Crest beach with his extended family. The multigenerational family has been vacationing in Wildwood for more than 50 years. Read more

WILDWOOD, N.J. — Breaking down the umbrellas and beach gear for his Quebecois family of 11 one afternoon this week, Paul Genier, 63, said the big group was missing many people.

“Usually we are a group of let’s say 30 persons,” said Genier, a pensioner from Montreal. Then, with a smile, he added: “I don’t have to say why. We don’t want to get in trouble, either. They’re losing a lot of Canadians.”

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Like many in Canada, the Genier family hesitated about taking the traditional summer vacation to their beloved Wildwood, or anywhere in the United States, after a spring of tariff threats and talk from President Donald Trump about Canada becoming “the 51st state.”

But with their deposit already paid last year, and the love the kids have for the place, the Geniers found themselves back on the wide beaches of Wildwood this week, staying, as usual, at the Beachcomber Camping Resort.

Tourism officials say it appears more Canadians ended up coming to Cape May County than they had feared back in March when cancellations started pouring in, but Canadian business is still down between 20% and 30%. Canadian travel has been down since the pandemic in general, they note, in part due to a weak exchange rate.

Trump has announced new tariffs of 35% on Canadian goods set to kick in on Aug. 1. The World Travel & Tourism Council estimates that the U.S. economy will take a $12.5 billion hit this year due to the loss of international travelers.

One Cape May County campground said Canadian business was off as much as 50%, and Duane Watlington of Vacation Rentals Wildwood said his decline was about 38% in June, and 75% in July (the website pivoted in its marketing to target local customers).

On the beach, Wildwood Beach Patrol Capt. Ed Schneider has noticed.

“It’s very light this year, due to the value of the Canadian dollar vs. U.S. dollar,” he said. “When I first started working here in the late ‘80s, the entire beach would be Canadian. We’d have to learn a couple key phrases.”

Still, this week, the start of the Construction Holiday, a mandatory two-week vacation in Quebec province and traditional summer vacation time, Canadians could be found on the Wildwood beaches, around motel pools, and in the campgrounds of Cape May County.

“It’s a political conflict but it doesn’t change the love we have for this place,” said Marina Marra, a server in Montreal who came to Wildwood Crest with a group of 17 relatives and friends across three generations. “We offered the kids to go to Greece this summer and they wanted to come here.”

‘There were the looks’

Marra’s family said they’d felt a cold shoulder this year that they hadn’t in the past, with some long stares and one person telling their mother, Dominique Malo, who has come to Wildwood since she was a baby, “If you’re not happy, go back to Canada.”

“We felt it,” said Ludovick Behr, 20, traveling with his boyfriend, Francois Duhaime, 28, as part of the big group. “The second we parked our cars, we felt it. They heard us speaking French, and then there were the looks, the disgusted looks.”

The other difference, they said, is fewer people in general on the Wildwood Crest beach, and definitely fewer Canadians. “The beach, usually, there’s at least 40% more people,” said Carl Béliveau, Marra’s husband. “We’re still here, we’re spending our money.”

Other Quebecois families interviewed said they hadn’t felt any hostility. “None at all,” said Paul Genier. “Even when we passed the border, it was, ‘Have a nice trip.’”

The loss of Canadian business was clear, though, he said, just from looking at license plates around town. He also noted that it was just a two-minute wait at the border crossing from Canada into New York, which usually takes 45 minutes to an hour.

“There’s a lot of people who are upset,” said Paul’s brother, Michael Genier, 60. “We don’t talk about it in the family, because we have different opinions. It’s silly. We’re hoping it’s only for four years, and less now.”

Gabrielle Minier, 27, and her friend Claudia Millaire, 27, of Montreal, were in Wildwood for the first time with their boyfriends, who had come as children and wanted to return.

They’d ridden the roller coaster, gone to the Honky Tonk Saloon, enjoyed a week of beautiful weather.

“Everyone is very nice,” Minier said.

‘We definitely miss them’

Diane Wieland, director of tourism for Cape May County, said Canadian reservations started picking back up in June, and then again after July 4.

“This is the start of the Construction Holiday in Quebec, and we will see how many will return, within the next four weeks,” Wieland said. “The lodging folks are saying reservations picked up about two weeks ago with steady calls. This past weekend there was a noticeable increase in Canadians arriving and making reservations, with some arriving without reservations.”

At the Quebec Motel, there were a handful of Canadian guests, and the desk clerks said most vacancies from Canadian cancellations had been filled with people from Philadelphia and New York.

At the Beachcomber campgrounds, owner Tammy Gomez said she’d booked people from Maryland, New York, and Connecticut in place of the Canadians that canceled. She said Canadians make up as much as 18% of her business, but only about half of that this year.

“We definitely miss them that’s for sure,” she said.

A softer season

At the Fleur de Lis Beach Motel, desk clerk Damien Moody said the other traditionally busy week for Canadians was still to come: Ukrainian Week in Wildwood, which this year begins Aug. 22.

He said business has been steady at the Fleur de Lis, but noticeably off in general around Wildwood. “The economy,” he said. “You have to have money to afford the cost of everything down here.”

John Donio, president of the Wildwood Business District and a motel owner, also said that the summer has been a softer one, in part due to loss of Canadian business, but also a general economic malaise.

“I think it’s a softer season for people than what they had hope for,” he said. “There’s some vacancies that people aren’t used to.”

He said talk had turned to business owners needing to keep up with competition, spend money to keep their properties up to date, modern, and aesthetically pleasing.

“There are other things at play,” he said. “The Wildwoods specifically needs to stay up with other competition besides Ocean City, N.J., Ocean City, Md., Rehoboth. We compete with cruise lines. We compete with Orlando. We also complete with Netflix. Mom and dad are watching Netflix and their kids are on their phones, and they think, why not just order takeout?”

As for Canada, Donio said the loss is felt, especially in the keener competitive environment.

“I have Canadian guests and they’re happy to be here, but let’s not bury our heads in the sand. They’re not on the East Coast as much as they should be,” he said. “I don’t think the political environment helped. You don’t want to limit any business, especially people so lovely or wonderful that add to the fabric of your tourism community.”

Marina Marra, the server from Quebec, said her family would continue to return to the Wildwoods, despite the mixed reception they’ve felt.

“People were walking by and they were laughing at our car plate,” she said. “I don’t let it affect us. We still had a beautiful vacation and I would come back. I hope it will get better. We still love it. Just the smell when you get in Wildwood. It’s nostalgic memories.”