Tourism Windsor-Essex Pelee Island CEO cites ‘uncertainty’ as a factor in soft tourism numbers for 2025

CEO of Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island Gordon Orr speaks at TWEPI's annual general meeting at Caesars Windsor.

Tourism Windsor-Essex Pelee Island is reporting a drop in visitors to the region in 2025.

CEO of Tourism Windsor-Essex Pelee Island Gordon Orr says overall visitation numbers were down 9.9 per cent compared to 2024, while U.S. visitation numbers were down 6 per cent compared to 2024.

Orr spoke about the figures from the past year at TWEPI’s annual general meeting at Caesars Windsor.

He says those numbers are soft and not where they want them to be but recognizes global tensions and being a border market really impact Windsor-Essex more than other parts of Ontario or Canada.

2025 was marked by a trade war and other policies initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump, which impacted cross-border travel.

Orr says if there was one word to sum up the past year, it’s “uncertainty,” and that’s where we still are right now.

“We know that there are going to be fewer people that are going to come because as the tensions coming out of the White House continue to evolve with the U.S., it’s been a real challenge without a question,” he says. “What we are seeing is more interest in our staycations, more people spending money closer to home, and hopefully getting more of our domestic visitation through Southwestern Ontario coming back down to visit Windsor-Essex.”

Orr says hotel numbers were soft in 2025.

“All border communities are experiencing softness in the overnight visitation. Our numbers are down anywhere between 10 and 12 per cent in our hotel occupancy, which is not where we want to go. The average daily rate has seen some positive growth, which is great, but we have not seen the numbers come up. Where we’ve seen more numbers come up is through day trippers coming across the border,” he says.

Orr says conferences, conventions, and group business were positive which is good because they mean a great deal to the community and the people they bring here.

“Conferences usually spend more money; they stay here longer, and they really maximize our complete convention infrastructure by way of hotel accommodations, accessibility to get here, and food and beverage while they’re here, so it really works out well for us. Conference numbers are good; Caesars Windsor is having a good year on the conference side, so our group business is good,” he says.

TWEPI noted that meetings and conferences held in Windsor generated nearly 49,000 group room nights in 2025.