U.S. tourism groups growing worried about Saskatchewan visitor losses

A tourism group based out of Great Falls, Montana, is growing more concerned as Canadian tourists cancel their summer vacation plans to the United States in the face of U.S tariffs.

“We’re already losing Canadian tourists because of the comments at the national level,” said Rebecca Engum, executive director of Great Falls Montana Tourism.

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This comes after a push from Canadian politicians for people to keep their money within the nation, amid threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.

The community about 375 kilometres southwest of Maple Creek attracts tourists as the museum capital of Montana with its extensive cultural history and the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.

Engum said 20 per cent of Great Falls tourism cames from Canada in 2024, with 20,000 visitors coming from Saskatchewan. She expects those numbers to be lower this year.

“Our neighbours to the north have always been extremely important to our travel industry economy, and so when people choose not to come here … it does have a great impact on what tourism looks like for Great Falls,” she said.

Bus tours have re-routed their trips away from the United States due to too many Canadian cancellations, according to Engum.

“It is a little frustrating because all we’re looking for is for people to come have fun in our town,” she said.

The tourism group’s strategy at this point is to continue to advertise in Canada to attract visitors across the border, Engam said.

“Canadians are always welcome,” she said. “We wouldn’t place paid media in Canada if we didn’t want them to come visit.”

Stephanie Schroenrock, Visit Minot’s executive director, said many visitors from Saskatchewan come across the border for more affordable entertainment, like at the North Dakota State Fair. (Visit Minot/ Facebook)

North Dakota keeping red carpet rolled out to Canadians

Craig Rudland, general manager of the North Dakota State Fair, said he’s still hoping to have people north of the U.S. border visit the event in July.

“I don’t think tariffs are good for anybody,” he said. “I don’t think it’s good for Canadians, I don’t think it’s good for the U.S.”

The event is hosted each year in Minot, ND, 190 kilometres southeast of Estevan.

About 6,000 Canadians attended the fair’s grandstand in 2024 Rudland said, but he was not sure what Canadian tourist numbers could look like this year.

“We want everybody to come down from Canada,” he said. “If somebody feels this year isn’t the year they maybe want to do that — they’re not happy with the way things are going — we can understand that.”

Stephanie Schoenrock, executive director of Visit Minot, said she’s planning on keeping the red carpet rolled out for Canadian tourists.

“It absolutely is a concern,” she said. “It is something that we are keeping a very close eye on. We have really close relations with a lot of people in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.”

Patterns of Canadian tourism have shifted Schoenrock says, with the bulk of tourists north of the border coming south for entertainment purposes instead of shopping.

In the summer, Schoenrock said Minot sees many Saskatchewan families with options to visit its new children’s museum and zoo.

“We are keeping a very close eye on it, and I guess we’re hopeful the relationship that has been built over decades is able to withstand the ups and downs,” she said.

Read more:

• Visitor spending in Regina jumps 24 per cent, on track to surpass pre-pandemic levels
• Visitor spending in Saskatoon returns to pre-pandemic levels