Whatcom border travel decreased 83% in 2020. Will a new U.S. administration bring change?
After a year when the pandemic made non-essential cross-border travel nonexistent, 2021 is expected to be a year of a slow, gradual recovery.
The number of people who crossed the border into Whatcom County from British Columbia in 2020 totaled 2.1 million, according to data gathered by the Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University. Most of those travelers came before March 21, when the border was closed to non-essential travel to try and slow the spread of COVID-19. The current restrictions remain in place through at least Feb. 21, although that deadline is expected to be extended.
That travel total is a decrease of 83% compared to 2019 and is a larger percentage drop than the overall numbers across the U.S.-Canada border, said Laurie Trautman, director at the institute.
“We are a bit higher than the national figure because our border is heavily composed of Canadians engaging in discretionary travel,” Trautman said in an email. She added that trade between Canada and Washington state is down, but it appears that is “primarily due to aerospace and the lower cost of mineral fuels, rather than the border restrictions or supply chain issues.”
With a new U.S. administration in place, there is some movement to engage with Canada about border travel restrictions, but Trautman said it will probably remain a lower priority as the focus remains on the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“I still think we are looking at fall before things go back to normal,” Trautman said, adding that we’re likely to see a gradual easing of restrictions by this summer and that “normal” will still be a different experience than before the pandemic arrived. That easing of restriction will probably include a new approach to crossing the border to try and ensure people aren’t carrying the virus with them.
During the pandemic the Canadian dollar has steadily strengthened, rising from 69 cents compared to the U.S. dollar in mid-March to around 79 cents in recent days. In non-pandemic times that would typically mean an increase in Canadian shoppers at Whatcom County stores and gas stations, although not at the same levels as when the loonie is on par with the U.S. dollar. That last happened in 2013.
The restricted border and the pandemic also had a big impact on traffic at Bellingham International Airport. The Port of Bellingham reported that 99,673 people flew out of the airport in 2020, a 71% drop compared to 2019.
