U.S. ski resorts are bracing for a steep drop in international travel due to politics : NPR

Whitefish, Mont. – A chairlift gets cranked into gear as a group of ski patrollers at Whitefish Mountain Resort prepares the mountain for another season.

This is a specific security training. They will practice how to remove people from chairs if there is an emergency. But much here does not seem normal. For starters, no one is on boots or skis. Despite training taking place in late November, there is no snow at the base lodge, and the slopes leading up the mountain are brown, raising widespread concern in the resort tourism industry at this time.

“Yes, if we don’t have snow, that will dictate what our weather will be like,” says resort spokesman Chad Sokol.

Heading into the Thanksgiving holiday – the traditional start of the ski season – resorts across the West opened late due to little or no snowfall, and many could not even make artificial snow due to the mild weather. It is unclear how much impact this has had on winter bookings.

Snow finally started falling this week in the Rockies and Pacific Northwest, including Whitefish. But the ski industry is also facing a steady decline in the number of international guests due to President Trump’s tariffs and his negative rhetoric about their countries.

Welcome here our friends from the North

Whitefish Mountain Resort, long known locally as Big Mountain, is located about 60 miles south of the U.S.-Canada border and has historically received a quarter of its business from the North.

“We consider Canadians our neighbors, and British Columbia and Alberta, that’s where we are — we’re a border state,” says Jack Anderson, executive director of Explore Whitefish, the local resort chamber.

Montana state tourism officials have found that the number of Canadian tourists has dropped by about 25% since Trump imposed heavy tariffs on Canada and suggested it should become the 51st US state. The local people are sad and disappointed.

“You know, we have no role in national politics,” Anderson says.

Canadian credit card spending at Whitefish’s upscale boutiques, restaurants and hotels also declined by 12%. That’s a big deal for a town of less than 10,000 people — and Anderson hopes Canadians will come back.

“You know, for a small community like ours, the message is that we’re here – we’re open for business,” he says.

This concern extends far beyond the American ski industry. The US Travel Association estimates that 5 million fewer international tourists will visit the United States this year.

“I don’t know if you’d call it a boycott, but there’s definitely a growing attitude of disenfranchisement,” says Amir Elon, president and CEO of Longwoods International.

Longwoods, a tourism market research firm, has been conducting monthly surveys of Canadians since last winter. Most people are citing American politics like tariffs and Trump’s rhetoric as the reason for canceling their trips. But almost the majority also cited the continued weak Canadian dollar.

“You have a lot of Canadian travelers who were already on the fence about coming to the U.S. from their financial standpoint and then they’ll feel disrespected or hurt,” says Eylon. “That makes it a lot easier for them to say: ‘You know what? Not this year.'”

Welcome to Canada

Small towns that rely on tourism are launching campaigns to lure Canadians back, including Whitefish and Kalispell, Mont., near Glacier National Park. General Manager Michelle Bump says that since opening in 1912, the Kalispell Grand Hotel has been welcoming Canadian guests.

“In those days, it was like cowboys, you know, rough guys,” Bump says with a smile.

Sixty-five percent of Flathead County residents voted for Trump last year. But they are set to take a big economic hit from cross-border politics. The local Chamber of Commerce has launched a “Welcome Back Canada” initiative. Canadians get a 20% discount on hotel rooms in the city. Bump and his staff were eager to participate in the promotion.

“I’m a hotel manager, so, not really a politician. Our job is to take care of the guests and keep the rooms full all year round, especially during the shoulder season, and that’s really the way I look at it,” says Bump.

Uncertainty is the word of the year in tourism

In Whitefish, no one is really sure how many Canadians will come this winter. However, the ski resort is coming off its second busiest season on record. Resort spokesperson Sokol says the tariff drop comes after some of the resort’s busiest, most important weekends.

“So our busy schedule was already over at that time,” he says.

Christmas week is often a turnaround time for resorts, and local bookings look solid for the upcoming holidays.

Anderson at Explore Whitefish says this year’s decline in Canadian business has been offset by a surge in domestic tourists and a boom in Montana’s population since the COVID-19 pandemic. But he says domestic tourists are also booking at the last minute and it is difficult for businesses to plan.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty out there — it’s hard to know what’s going to happen,” Anderson says. “It seems like the political winds are changing on an hourly basis.”