The Blue Water Bridge connects Port Huron, Michigan, with Sarnia, Ontario. (Courtesy of Pure Michigan)

LANSING – After a sharp decline in Canadian visitors in 2025, Michigan tourist destinations find themselves focusing on attracting other visitors.

According to Visit Detroit, Canadian tourism to southeast Michigan decreased by about 30% last year.

Visit Detroit’s communications director Brett McWethy said that Canada is one of the area’s largest international tourism markets, along with the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Germany.

“We will always offer a welcoming voice to our Canadian neighbors,” McWethy said. “Maintaining a strong, collaborative relationship is essential to the economic and cultural vitality of our region.”

He said Visit Detroit is still marketing to all possible visitors, including domestic travelers, major U.S. cities and regional travelers within 300 miles of Detroit.

The Blue Water Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, which focuses on luring tourists to the coast of Lake Huron, said it has shifted its focus to attracting tourists who are a little closer to home.

“We saw a decline in visitors from Canada in 2025, so we adjusted our marketing initiatives and deployed tactics that focused on attracting domestic travelers, specifically in the Midwest,” the Port Huron-based organization said in a statement.

Regardless, it says it’s still ready to welcome Canadian tourists.

“We want travelers from Canada to know that if they choose to visit Michigan’s Thumbcoast, we are here with open arms, ready to welcome you,” the Blue Water Bureau said.

Pure Michigan’s vice president, Kelly Wolgamott, expresses a similar sentiment.

“Michigan has consistently been among the top U.S. travel destinations for Canadians, and we will continue to join our tourism partners across the state in extending a warm welcome to Canadian visitors,” she said in a statement.

Pure Michigan is the state’s official tourism promotion agency.

Experts say that many factors have contributed to the decline in Canadian tourists.

Dan McCole, an associate professor of community sustainability at Michigan State University, said that based on the current value of the U.S. dollar, Michigan should be seeing more Canadian tourists.

“The most logical explanation for this (decline in visits) would be that Canadians are upset with some of the rhetoric going on with the (Trump) administration,” McCole said.

He said that rhetoric includes President Donald Trump referring to Canada as the “51st state.”

“Essentially this is a form of boycott,” McCole said. “Canadians seem to be avoiding travel to the U.S. and U.S. products.”

McCole also said it isn’t just a Canadian issue: The U.S. is seeing fewer tourists from everywhere.

“Worldwide, international tourism increased last year by 5% to 6%,” McCole said. “We have seen over a 6% decrease in international travel to the U.S.”

He said that the reason might come down to safety.

“The concern is that people may not feel safe,” McCole said. “They may feel that they won’t be allowed into the border, they might be detained, they might get their social media checked.”

McCole said that Michigan can expect to welcome back Canadians eventually.

“There will be pent-up demand,” McCole said. “Boycotts tend to fade over time.”

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This story was provided by Capital News Service at Michigan State University.