SALT LAKE CITY — There were some things about Utah’s $13 billion tourism industry that didn’t change much in 2025.
Through November, national park visits, hotel occupancy and spending — at least by visitors from the other 49 states — were all within a few percentage points of last year’s metrics.
Look inside the numbers, and you’ll see fewer visits from foreigners, especially Canadians. Canada had been Utah tourism’s largest international market.
“I would say that the political tensions are probably playing into this,” said Jennifer Leaver, senior tourism analyst at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute in Salt Lake City, “as well as the Canadian dollar is not as strong against the U.S. Dollar.”
One estimate from a travel economics firm forecasts a 19% decline in Canadian visitors to Utah and a 2% or 3% drop in Europeans.
Moab publishes a dashboard for its tourism stats. It shows that while domestic spending on Visa credit cards is up slightly in 2025, international spending there is down by more than $1 million.
Leaver said so-called mega events in 2026, including the FIFA World Cup, America 250 and the centennial of Route 66, could bring more foreign tourists to the United States, and them maybe to Utah. (No World Cup games are scheduled for Utah, nor does Route 66 enter the Beehive State.)
Leaver also believes Utah has untapped markets abroad.
“I think there definitely are,” she said. “And I believe in the last few years, I was seeing some trends from South America that were growing.”
