U.S. departures to Europe fell 2.1% in June 2026 and another 1.2% in July, ending a run that delivered a record near 24 million American trips to Europe in 2025. Canadians moved the opposite way, cutting visits to the United States by 23.5% in 2025 while increasing trips to Europe by 13.6%.

Skift's analysis of transatlantic demand, which frames the divergence, carries direct revenue consequences for how European destinations sell themselves in North America. The two source markets no longer behave as one, and tourism boards that run the region from a single office — often in New York — face a structural mismatch against competitors with dedicated Canadian teams.

Which markets are moving where?

The American slowdown reads as a pause, not a collapse. Monthly growth slid from roughly 6% last summer to 2% by May before turning negative in mid-2026. Skift interprets the decline as travelers catching their breath after a record year.

Canada is a different story. The pivot away from the U.S. accelerated European demand: 45% of Canadians say they plan a European trip this year, against 34% of Americans. For destinations and their distribution partners, that gap defines where incremental bookings sit.

How do the two traveler bases differ?

Skift's Global Traveler Values Segmentation (a framework grouping travelers by motivation and spending behavior) shows Canadians travel abroad less often, stay longer, and are less than half as likely to prioritize business or first class. Their segment mix resembles Spain's more than America's.

The commercial implication: identical product, packaging, and pricing will convert differently across the two markets. Long-stay, value-conscious Canadian demand rewards different air, accommodation, and itinerary economics than the higher-frequency, premium-leaning U.S. base.

Where does consideration concentrate?

Shortlists are top-heavy. Italy, France, Britain, and Japan each appear on roughly one in six traveler shortlists. No other European country passes 11%. Ireland sits under 4% nationally.

Segment targeting offers the counterweight. Ireland appears on one list in 10 among American Culture Seekers — almost three times its national rate. Skift's reading: destinations outside the big three face an expensive climb to mass awareness, but specific segments offer cheaper, more winnable entry points.

What does this mean for tourism boards?

Europe's largest national tourism organizations — France, Britain, Ireland, Spain, Switzerland, Portugal — maintain their own teams in Canada, in Toronto or Montreal. Smaller boards cannot justify the cost and run North America from one office or agency.

That staffing model is now under strain. A single New York-led strategy calibrated to American demand patterns will underserve a Canadian market growing double digits and reweighting away from the U.S. Boards that plan for each market separately, in Skift's assessment, stand to capture the growth.