NEW YORK/AMSTERDAM: More Canadians this year are seeking out Disney magic across the Atlantic Ocean, as fewer foreign visitors come to the United States even though worldwide travel trends remain robust. Travel agencies and companies that specialize in Disney vacations — and other types of travel — are noting Canadians’ decisions to hold steadfast in promises to boycott travel to the United States. President Donald Trump’s ongoing trade war, threats to seize Greenland, and aggressive immigration enforcement efforts have made the United States a less desirable destination, travel agents said. For 2025, total foreign travel to the United States was down 5.4 percent through November, according to the US Commerce Department’s National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO), led by 4 million fewer visits from Canadian travelers, a 22 percent drop from the previous year.
Christine Fiorelli, owner of Canadian travel agency Fairytale Dreams & Destinations, said she’s seen a 30 percent shift in clients who normally book a US Disney vacation, as they are now turning to places like Disneyland Paris.
“Many travelers are still eager for that magical Disney experience but prefer to avoid supporting US-based parks at this time,” said Fiorelli, “It still holds a place in their heart, but not now.” Walt Disney CFO Hugh Johnston said on the company’s latest earnings call that it had less visibility into international bookings for the second quarter, and has shifted its marketing and sales efforts to domestic travelers.
Disney did not respond to an additional request for comment.
“We’re huge Disney lovers, but given the current political climate, we’re not traveling to anywhere in the US,” said Catherine Norris, 57, from the Toronto area, who has visited Disney World with her family every year since 2008. She and her husband have booked a Disney vacation in Europe and back-to-back Disney cruises departing from Singapore instead.
“It will probably be at least five to ten years before we will travel to the US again,” Norris said.
In 2024, Canada was the top market for visitors to Orlando, home of Walt Disney World, with a record 1.2 million visitors, according to Visit Orlando, the city’s destination marketing firm. Visit Orlando has not released 2025 figures.
The outlook could shift, however, with the World Cup soccer tournament set to start in June.
“President Trump has done more for American tourism than anyone,” said Anna Kelly, White House deputy press secretary. “His America First agenda has restored our country’s place as the leader of the free world once again – making it the best place to live or visit.” However, the World Travel and Tourism Council estimates a 6 percent drop in foreign visitors to the United States in 2025, even as global tourism rose 6.7 percent.
The hit to travel is also affecting US national parks, according to travel agencies.
Australia-based Intrepid Travel, which offers over 300 US national park tours, said bookings are down 42 percent for 2026, particularly from Canada, UK, and Australia, with Canada bookings plunging 93 percent. UK-based luxury travel agency Cazenove+Loyd said they scrapped plans for tailor-made itineraries centered around parks in states like Montana, Washington and California.
“It might not be quite the time to launch something that is dedicated to the States,” said Christopher Wilmot-Sitwell, co-owner.
Hotel operator Hilton Worldwide’s full-year results showed per-room revenue and occupancy rates fell in the United States in 2025 despite rising in every other region. At a conference in January, Marriott International CEO said the company was working to convince government officials to be more welcoming to international visitors, according to a report by CoStar, a hotel analytics firm.
Bookings by Europeans to the US between October 7 and January 31 were down 14 percent year-over-year, according to flight analytics data firm Cirium, while bookings from Canada fell 17 percent in the same period. The White House’s recent proposal to require millions of travelers to submit social media data has added to the uncertainty, travel agents said. The US Travel Association, an industry group, warned this could cause millions of vacationers to go elsewhere, as the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts have led to a perception that it’s harder to travel to the United States, said Erik Hansen, the group’s head of government relations.
“When you look at the data, the number of phone searches by the US Customs and Border Protection, the number of denied entries has not gone up compared to previous administrations,” he said.
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Looking for Disney magic elsewhere: Canadians lead declines in travel to US
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Looking for Disney magic elsewhere: Canadians lead declines in travel to US
- Global tourism rises, but US sees near 6 percent drop in foreign visitors
- Trump’s policies cited as reason for reduced US travel appeal
Dignified transfer for Kentucky soldier who was the 7th US service member to die in Iran war
ELIZABETHTOWN, USA: Vice President JD Vance joined the grieving family of a Kentucky man who was the seventh US service member to die in combat during the Iran war as his remains were brought back to the US Monday evening.
The dignified transfer, a solemn event that honors US service members killed in action, took place at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for Army Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, of Glendale, Kentucky. He died Sunday after being wounded during a March 1 attack on the Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, a Pentagon statement said.
Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saluted alongside high ranking military officials as the transfer case draped with the American flag was carried from the military aircraft and into an awaiting vehicle.
Mike Bell, retired pastor of Glendale Christian Church, said he’d known Pennington since he was a toddler and got a call from Pennington’s father when the soldier was hurt.
“I talked to Tim Saturday morning, and he was doing a little better, and they were talking about maybe moving him to Germany,” Bell said. Tim Pennington called again that evening, Bell said, to ask for prayers as his son’s condition was worsening, and then later told him the soldier had succumbed to his injuries.
“He was just a quiet person,” said Bell, noting that Pennington attended the church’s after-school program. “I mean, he never attracted attention because he was just steady doing what he needed to do to do it.”
State and local officials grieve
Pennington was assigned to the 1st Space Battalion, 1st Space Brigade of the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command based at Fort Carson, Colorado.
The unit’s mission focused on “missile warning, GPS, and long-haul satellite communications,” according to their website.
“This just breaks my heart,” Keith Taul, judge-executive of Hardin County, where Pennington was from, said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press. “I have known the family for at least 30 years. I can’t imagine the pain and suffering they are experiencing.”
Glendale is an unincorporated town of about 300 residents south of the Hardin County seat of Elizabethtown.
In a statement posted on social media, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear called Pennington “a hero who sacrificed everything serving our country.”
Six other soldiers killed
The other six service members killed since the conflict began on Feb. 28 were Army reservists killed in Kuwait when an Iranian drone struck an operations center at a civilian port.
President Donald Trump on Saturday joined grieving families at Dover Air Force Base at the dignified transfer for those six US soldiers.
The dignified transfer is considered one of the most somber duties of any commander in chief. During his first term, Trump said bearing witness to the transfer was “the toughest thing I have to do” as president.
‘An American hero’
Pennington graduated in 2017 from Central Hardin High School, where he was enrolled in the automotive technology pathway, district spokesman John Wright told the AP. Former automotive tech instructor Tom Pitt, who taught Pennington in 2017 at Hardin County Early College and Career Center, called him “an American hero.”
“A lot of times as a teacher, you have students who are smart, you have students who are charismatic, who are likable, dare I say, enchanting,” said Pitt, who called Pennington Nate. “Rarely do you have students who are all of those. And Ben Pennington was all of those. He was basically the quintessential all-American.”
Photos on his and family members’ Facebook pages show that Pennington achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in August 2017. His Eagle project was the demolition of some old baseball dugouts in Glendale, said Darin Life, former committee chairman for Troop 221.
“If you look up Eagle Scout, his picture’s probably there,” said Life, who knew Pennington throughout his scouting career. “He loved his country. I would have expected nothing less of him than to lose his life protecting his country.”
Awards and decorations
A month after his Eagle ceremony, Pennington posted a photo of himself taking the oath of enlistment. He entered the service as a unit supply specialist and was assigned to the Space and Missile Command on June 10, 2025, the Army said in a release.
Among his awards and decorations were the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon.
“The US Army Space and Missile Defense Command is deeply saddened by the loss of Sgt. Pennington,” said Lt. Gen. Sean A. Gainey, USASMDC commanding general. “He gave the ultimate sacrifice for the country he loved.”
Col. Michael F. Dyer, 1st Space Brigade commander, described Pennington as “a dedicated and experienced noncommissioned officer who led with strength, professionalism and sense of duty.”
Pennington will be posthumously promoted to staff sergeant, the Pentagon said.
The dignified transfer, a solemn event that honors US service members killed in action, took place at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for Army Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, of Glendale, Kentucky. He died Sunday after being wounded during a March 1 attack on the Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, a Pentagon statement said.
Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saluted alongside high ranking military officials as the transfer case draped with the American flag was carried from the military aircraft and into an awaiting vehicle.
Mike Bell, retired pastor of Glendale Christian Church, said he’d known Pennington since he was a toddler and got a call from Pennington’s father when the soldier was hurt.
“I talked to Tim Saturday morning, and he was doing a little better, and they were talking about maybe moving him to Germany,” Bell said. Tim Pennington called again that evening, Bell said, to ask for prayers as his son’s condition was worsening, and then later told him the soldier had succumbed to his injuries.
“He was just a quiet person,” said Bell, noting that Pennington attended the church’s after-school program. “I mean, he never attracted attention because he was just steady doing what he needed to do to do it.”
State and local officials grieve
Pennington was assigned to the 1st Space Battalion, 1st Space Brigade of the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command based at Fort Carson, Colorado.
The unit’s mission focused on “missile warning, GPS, and long-haul satellite communications,” according to their website.
“This just breaks my heart,” Keith Taul, judge-executive of Hardin County, where Pennington was from, said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press. “I have known the family for at least 30 years. I can’t imagine the pain and suffering they are experiencing.”
Glendale is an unincorporated town of about 300 residents south of the Hardin County seat of Elizabethtown.
In a statement posted on social media, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear called Pennington “a hero who sacrificed everything serving our country.”
Six other soldiers killed
The other six service members killed since the conflict began on Feb. 28 were Army reservists killed in Kuwait when an Iranian drone struck an operations center at a civilian port.
President Donald Trump on Saturday joined grieving families at Dover Air Force Base at the dignified transfer for those six US soldiers.
The dignified transfer is considered one of the most somber duties of any commander in chief. During his first term, Trump said bearing witness to the transfer was “the toughest thing I have to do” as president.
‘An American hero’
Pennington graduated in 2017 from Central Hardin High School, where he was enrolled in the automotive technology pathway, district spokesman John Wright told the AP. Former automotive tech instructor Tom Pitt, who taught Pennington in 2017 at Hardin County Early College and Career Center, called him “an American hero.”
“A lot of times as a teacher, you have students who are smart, you have students who are charismatic, who are likable, dare I say, enchanting,” said Pitt, who called Pennington Nate. “Rarely do you have students who are all of those. And Ben Pennington was all of those. He was basically the quintessential all-American.”
Photos on his and family members’ Facebook pages show that Pennington achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in August 2017. His Eagle project was the demolition of some old baseball dugouts in Glendale, said Darin Life, former committee chairman for Troop 221.
“If you look up Eagle Scout, his picture’s probably there,” said Life, who knew Pennington throughout his scouting career. “He loved his country. I would have expected nothing less of him than to lose his life protecting his country.”
Awards and decorations
A month after his Eagle ceremony, Pennington posted a photo of himself taking the oath of enlistment. He entered the service as a unit supply specialist and was assigned to the Space and Missile Command on June 10, 2025, the Army said in a release.
Among his awards and decorations were the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon.
“The US Army Space and Missile Defense Command is deeply saddened by the loss of Sgt. Pennington,” said Lt. Gen. Sean A. Gainey, USASMDC commanding general. “He gave the ultimate sacrifice for the country he loved.”
Col. Michael F. Dyer, 1st Space Brigade commander, described Pennington as “a dedicated and experienced noncommissioned officer who led with strength, professionalism and sense of duty.”
Pennington will be posthumously promoted to staff sergeant, the Pentagon said.
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