A recent survey commissioned by Flight Centre’s Corporate Travellers Canada, found that 85% of Canadian small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) would reduce their US travel if the US government imposes tariffs or other trade restrictions.
If even a small portion of those surveyed in the YouGov poll follow through in the event of US sanctions, it could have dire effects on the bottom lines of airlines, the hospitality industry, travel advisors, and other tourism-related suppliers.
An overwhelming 85% of SMEs surveyed expect they would cross-border travel, with 59% saying those reductions will be “significant or moderate”.
Small business are more likely to try to replace US business travel with international markets, with 80% reporting they’d explore the options, compared to 73% of medium-sized businesses.
The full results of the survey reflect the general uncertainty as Canada and much of the rest of the world awaits news on what could be a globally disruptive series of tariffs.
For instance, 48% of employees of Canadian SMEs surveyed believe the unfolding trade situation will cause “siginificant or some” disruption to business operations over the next year, while 47% expect “minimal to no impact”.
For more information, visit corptraveller.com.