Canada is seeing a sharp decline in American tourism, a new study suggests. Reasons: a stronger loonie, stricter US passport rules and a shift toward more exotic travel destinations, says the Calgary Herald.

"The Canadian tourism sector -- ravaged in recent years by the Sept. 11 terror attacks, the war in Iraq and the SARS outbreak in Toronto -- has experienced a 34% drop in US travelers since 2000," the newspaper says.

Americans are overwhelmingly the biggest foreign visitors to Canada, representing four-fifths of all outside tourism dollars spent here. But interest appears to be waning, especially among younger US travelers, industry officials say.

Since 2000, the number of tourists coming from America to Canada has been on the decline.

Part of the problem is that Canada isn't being touted as an adventure destination, said Randy Williams, president of the Ottawa-based Tourism Industry Association of Canada, which recently released a study that examined American perceptions on travel to Canada.

The report found that Canada is losing a steady share of visitors to countries such as China and Australia, whose governments have launched aggressive advertising campaigns to attract lucrative US travelers.

"A lot more countries are marketing to the US, but we haven't stepped up to the plate," said Williams. "It's crazy. We've got a lot of exotic experiences in Canada, whether it's survival camping, dog-sledding or sea kayaking, but we're not getting the message out."

Other findings included:

-Forty per cent of Americans do not associate Canada as a travel destination for skiing, snowboarding and boating.

- Baby boomers are more inclined to visit Canada than travelers in their 20s and 30s, many of whom view Canada as an "average" or "boring" place to visit.

- Men are more inclined to visit Canada than women.

Report by David Wilkening