Tourism in Windsor-Essex fell nearly 10 percent in 2025 compared to 2024, driven by ongoing political tensions between Canada and the United States, according to Tourism Windsor-Essex Pelee Island CEO Gordon Orr.
Orr announced the decline during the organization’s annual general meeting on June 18, 2026. He attributed the drop primarily to heightened geopolitical and economic uncertainty since the Trump administration took office.
U.S. visitation hit hard
“I know the biggest factor is certainly the heightened Canada-U.S. geopolitical and economic uncertainty that has been going on since the Trump administration has gone in to play,” Orr told the Windsor Star. “We’ve got fewer U.S. travellers coming here, and when your U.S. visitation accounts for 33 per cent of your overall visitation, that’s a hit.”
American visits to Canada overall fell nearly six percent in 2025 compared to 2024. Windsor-Essex, a traditional day-trip and rubber-tire market, saw hotel occupancy decline as a result. “It’s not too surprising that our hotel occupancy is down,” Orr said. “But that being said, we know that the longer people are here, the more money they spend.”
Domestic travel also affected
Canadian travellers often stay and dine in Windsor-Essex before crossing into Detroit. With Canadians avoiding U.S. travel due to tensions, domestic visitation in Windsor fell 11.8 percent last year. “There are fewer domestic travellers choosing Windsor as a viable option to go over to the U.S.,” Orr said.
Rising economic uncertainties have also led Canadians to limit discretionary spending. Orr described the competition to attract domestic visitors as fierce, requiring the tourism industry to find ways to keep travel local and affordable.
Staycations as a recovery strategy
The City of Windsor is investing half a million dollars in a summer event series called Experience Windsor, encouraging residents to stay home and spend money on local attractions. Orr said staycations are a great way to boost domestic tourism and help compensate for the U.S. decline.
“Our largest visitor segment of those coming to Windsor-Essex are coming here to visit relatives or friends,” he said. “This gives a great opportunity for people coming out of town to visit Windsorites and our friends from the county.”
Border communities feel the pinch
Windsor-Essex is not alone. Many border communities are experiencing a dip in tourism. A study from the University of Toronto School of Cities found a 42 percent decline in Canadian visits to American urban areas.
Recent Statistics Canada data show small signs of recovery nationally. Canadian resident return trips from the U.S. in April increased by 1.8 percent year-over-year, while trips to Canada by U.S. citizens increased by 6.9 percent.
Outlook for 2026
Although projections for this year’s visitation numbers in the Windsor region are too early to tell, Orr is optimistic the country’s tourism industry will bounce back. “We’re certainly hopeful that domestic visitation will start to improve, and I think we’ll also see our local domestic spending increase,” he said. “But the real uncertainty again still is U.S. visitation, and it’s too big of a geographic advantage to ignore, nor do we want to.”
