By Brent Ruffner | Daily Independent (abridged)
Arizona might miss out on a sizable chunk of Canadian tourism dollars if the trend of winter visitors skipping the Grand Canyon State continues, according to Glenn Williamson, founder and CEO of the Canada-Arizona Business Council.
Williamson, who founded his organization 21 years ago, said he estimates a 20% to 30% decline in the amount of Canadians visiting Arizona in 2025.
“I think that’s a little bit on the high side,” Williamson said.
Canadian snowbirds spend about $1.5 billion in Arizona each year, a number that excludes those visitors who own houses in the Valley, Williamson said.
In March, it was reported there were more than 910,000 fewer land border crossings from Canada into the U.S. than the same time the year before, according to the Associated Press.
Some Canadians were put off by President Donald Trump’s comments about trying to make Canada the 51st state, Williamson said. Plus, some of those travelers perceive U.S. Customs and Border Protection will “make life miserable” for those coming down from Canada.
“Canadians have become complacent of the ease of (going) back and forth (between the U.S. and Canada),” Williamson said. ”They took it for granted crossing the border.”
The Arizona Office of Tourism anticipates getting data that show the number of Canadian visitors coming to Arizona for the 2024 calendar year, said Josh Coddington, a spokesman for the Arizona Office of Tourism.
The office is working to get more real-time data for 2025, he said.
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