Strong Canadian dollar brings tourists Traditional Old Orchard Beach visits ‘good for everyone,’ innkeeper says

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OLD ORCHARD BEACH – Hotels here fly Canadian flags alongside the Stars and Stripes. Desk workers speak French in addition to English. Fries are served up Canadian-style, topped with vinegar or gravy and cheese.

Old Orchard has long been a haven for Canadian tourists because the 7-mile stretch of sandy beach represents an easy drive from Quebec.

This summer, there are more of them as the soaring Canadian dollar makes it more affordable for Canadians to vacation in the United States, enticing more people to get into their cars despite the hassle of long waits at border crossings.

“They say there are more Canadians than ever before. It’s good for everyone,” said Claire Beaulieu, an owner of the Motel Kebec 2, a stone’s throw from the beach, where every single car in the parking lot had Quebec license plates on a recent morning.

Last summer, Canadian tourists probably thought it couldn’t get any better after the loonie, the Canadian dollar, reached a 28-year high in relation to the greenback. That meant they could trade in their loonies for 90 U.S. cents.

Since then, the Canadian dollar has grown even stronger. Today, the loonie and greenback are nearly equal, with a loonie worth about 95 cents.

It’s a dramatic change from five years earlier, when the loonie was worth 62 cents in the United States. Canadian travel to the United States has grown 23 percent since then, according to data published by the Commerce Department.

“These are some of the best days for Canadian tourists who wish to travel south of the border for their summer vacation since bellbottom jeans and disco balls were all the rage,” said Michael Woolfolk of the Bank of New York Mellon Corp.

And Canadians should get used to it. The trend is expected to continue for several years, said Woolfolk, a senior currency strategist.

Some Canadian banks have had to dip into their reserves after running out of greenbacks as Canadians cash in their loonies for trips to the United States, said Manny Witt, director of the New England Tourism Office in Montreal.

Julie Arseneault of Rosemere, Quebec, said she and her husband decided to drive to Maine with their 5- and 2-year-old children instead of taking a flying vacation because of the strength of the Canadian dollar, as well as cheaper gas in the United States. Gas is roughly $1 more a gallon in Canada than in the United States.

“That’s why we came this year,” Arseneault said as she unloaded her sport utility vehicle packed with luggage and toys outside the Royal Anchor Resort.

Canadians like the Arsenaults used to come in large numbers, but some of them stopped coming when the value of the Canadian dollar dropped. Last year, many in the tourism industry noticed that the trend had shifted again.

Bud Harmon, executive director of the local chamber of commerce, said half of the visitors this summer are from Canada – like it was 20 years ago.

“They’re all coming back. We have more Canadians this year – more and more!” said Lorraine Bureau, who works at the Royal Anchor Resort. “We like to have the Americans come, too, but the rooms are all taken.”

Canadians always have liked the Coney Island-style atmosphere at Old Orchard Beach, which is known for its famous pier, its vast beach and its carnival-like atmosphere with arcade games, amusement rides, pizza parlors and T-shirt stores.

Canadians, especially, seem to be unfazed by the cold waters of the North Atlantic.

“The beach here is to die for,” said Jean-F. Remillard of St. Bruno, Quebec. “The people who say the water is too cold, they don’t know what they’re talking about. We’re very hardy people.”

The trend isn’t unique to Old Orchard.

The number of overnight trips by Canadians to the United States has been growing steadily since April 2003, when travel slowed because of concerns over the war in Iraq and the SARS scare, according to Statistics Canada. In January, the number of overnight trips from Canada to the United States was the highest in more than 13 years.

“It’s a real bargain,” said Suzanne Tanguay, 81, of Sherbrooke, Quebec, who has been coming to Old Orchard Beach for more than 40 years.

She and her sister Marthe, 78, recall the bad years when they would cash in $100 in Canadian dollars and receive $60 in greenbacks in return.

The exchange rate works well for businesses, as well. When the Canadian dollar was weak, Canadian tourists often sought discounts from hotels, restaurants and retailers.

That’s no longer the case.

“There’s not as much haggling over the prices,” said Stan Eaton at the Grand Beach Inn. “When the Canadian dollar was substantially lower, there was more haggling. They were looking for any kind of discount they could get.”

Some Canadians travel regardless of the value of Canadian dollars. Others have a threshold for which they consider canceling a trip. For Remillard, he said he would reconsider a trip to the United States if the loonie’s value drops to 75 U.S. cents.

His recent beach vacation was something of a guilty pleasure. While his trip to Old Orchard was cheaper, the Canadian dollar’s strength creates potentially negative effects. It’s bad for Canadian manufacturers and exporters, he noted.

“Right now, I’m enjoying the positives,” Remillard said. “When I get back home, I have to deal with the negatives.”