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“We will probably hold off until the dollar straightens itself out a bit,” said Joel Leydier, a retiree from Cobourg, Ontario, adding: “For sure, I’m going to miss the warm weather.”

The loonie this year has dropped to its lowest level against the U.S. dollar in more than a decade. The loonie has slid 25 per cent against the U.S. dollar in the past three years and now is worth, in the ballpark, of 75 cents.

After Canada, the biggest sources of international tourists in the United States are Mexico, with a forecast of 17.9 million visitors this year; the United Kingdom, 4.4 million visitors; Japan, 3.5 million visitors; and Brazil, 2.3 million visitors.

In Florida, where 4.2 million Canadians vacation annually, Canadian visits are down 1.4 per cent for the first three quarters of the year, even though overall tourism is up by 5.5 per cent, and Florida is on the path to break the 100 million visitors mark. Florida is the second most-popular state for Canadian visitors, trailing only New York.

Canadians have slowed down making inquiries about Brendan and Valerie Wyck’s three-bedroom luxury condo in Fort Myers, which they rent out by the month at a cost of $110 a night, although inquiries from the United States and other countries haven’t diminished, said Brendan Wyck, who lives in a Toronto suburb and purchased the condo four years ago.

The Wycks also take a financial hit when they have to exchange dollars to pay for their homeowners’ association fees.