Canadian tourists will not be coming down to Palm Beach County this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, and that spells bad news for businesses that rely on the dollars these winter visitors spend on everything from restaurants to real estate.
The land border between the United States and Canada remains closed for all non-emergency travel.
Air travel is permitted, but many Canadian travelers are wary of getting on an airplane. Among them is Mitchell Stein of Montreal. Since Stein was a child, he said he has been making the trek to South Florida during winters.
Now Stein is 56, and he still travels each year to South Florida, except this year. Stein said he used to stay in Jupiter, but in recent years, he has rented a condominium in Hallandale for several months.
This year, however, Stein said he plans to stay put in Montreal, despite the long, dark months ahead and the prospect of brutally cold weather.
“It’s a very awkward year. It feels strange we are not going down,” Stein said. But among his group of friends who travel south each year, “no one is going down.”
The reason?
The response by the United States, and Florida, to the pandemic.
“The perception we have is that Florida is like the Wild West right now, and people are walking around without masks,” Stein said.