Industry News
Industry News provides weekly news and tips for the people who market Minnesota and its destinations.
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May 4, 2026 |
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| Painted Prairie Vineyard and Vineyard Hause, Currie / Photo Credit: Painted Prairie Vineyard and Estate |
Happy National Travel and Tourism Week
It's National Travel and Tourism Week (NTTW), May 3-9. This celebration of travel and tourism focuses on the power of travel to our national and statewide economies, the hospitality and tourism workforce, and the benefits to communities.
Use Explore Minnesota’s #NTTW26 toolkit to spotlight travel's essential role in your communities, with a press release template, sample social media posts and mayoral Proclamations to share the power of travel message.
Is your community celebrating National Travel and Tourism Week? Share your #NTTW26 events with us by sending an email to: questions.exploreminnesota@state.mn.us.
Attend Explore Minnesota Regional Roundtable This Week
Explore Minnesota invites all tourism and travel-related businesses, organizations, and community partners in Minnesota to take part in our 2026 Regional Roundtables.
Join us for our final in-person Regional Roundtable this week:
- Southern Roundtable: Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at 1 p.m. at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center in Mankato.
These 90-minute conversational sessions are designed to foster collaboration, share insights, and strengthen Minnesota’s tourism industry together.
Register for the 2027 Explore Minnesota Tourism Grant Overview Webinar
Please join us for an overview of the 2027 Explore Minnesota Tourism Grant on Tues. May 12 at 1 p.m. CST.
The Tourism Grant program provides funding to support the tourism marketing campaigns and initiatives of primary nonprofit DMOs (501c3 or 501c6), municipal DMOs, and Tribal Nations for the economic benefit of their communities.
Register for the May Continuing Education Series Webinar
Join us for our final session in our spring (CES) on May 19 at 11 a.m. for Research: National Resident Sentiment Towards Sporting Events webinar. This insightful, data-focused webinar will reveal how residents perceive the impacts of sporting events and how you can use data-driven insights to leverage sports in your community.
Explore Minnesota is Hiring an External Relations Director
Explore Minnesota is hiring for an External Relations Director to oversee all communications, media relations, and legislative relations, providing managerial and strategic leadership for Explore Minnesota’s (EMN’s) internal and external communications programs.
The position will be responsible for developing, implementing, and evaluating administrative-level communications strategies that directly impact the agency’s public reputation, legislative relationships, executive leadership priorities, and internal engagement. This position manages high-level complex public information and public relations campaigns and projects, creates talking points, press releases, blogs, op-eds, and other communication materials for the Executive Director and agency leadership. Additionally, the incumbent will develop the agency's strategic communications strategy – integrating external and internal communications, marketing, industry relations, and visual communications across all departments.
Apply online for Job Title: Communication Manager 1 – External Relations Director, Job ID: 93540 by May 7.
Early Bird Pricing for 2027 Explore Minnesota Travel Guide Closing Soon
Reservations are open for the official 2027 Travel Guide! Reach highly qualified travelers who are using the guide as inspiration to plan their trips and make decisions about what to see and do while they are in the state.
Get details on new ad sizes, digital packages and early-bird pricing in the media kit or contact Sebrina Sebrina.Williams@MilesPartnership.com. Reserve your spot by May 16 to secure the early bird rate.
View the media kit to learn more.
Add Your American Indian Heritage Month Celebrations to ExploreMinnesota.com
The month of May is American Indian Heritage Month, and Explore Minnesota wants to promote your local events.
To have your event considered for inclusion in various Explore Minnesota communications, log into the Explore Minnesota extranet to update or create new listings for your American Indian Heritage Month events. Please note that submitting an image with your event listing increases the likelihood that your event will be featured in an upcoming newsletter or social media post.
For technical assistance, contact our extranet team at tourism@state.mn.us.
Update your listing on the Explore Minnesota extranet.
Explore Minnesota’s Japan Market Overview and Mission Recap
Explore Minnesota participated in a media and trade mission with the Mississippi River Country regional marketing organization Feb. 15 – 20 in Tokyo, Japan. Staff met with top Japanese travel trade and media representatives and promoted travel to Minnesota and the Mississippi River region.
Read the mission recap and learn about the current market, barriers to travel and opportunities.
Please contact Jen Schak, Market Development Manager, at jennifer.schak@state.mn.us with questions about international marketing.
Continued Decrease in Canadian Visitation to Minnesota in First Quarter
In 2025, Canadian arrivals in Minnesota were down 18% relative to 2024. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, this downward trend has continued into 2026. One positive signal is that March 2026 Canadian visitation was up 1% compared to March 2025.
- In January 2026, 38,600 Canadians traveled to Minnesota. This is an 18% decrease relative to January 2024 and a 14% decrease relative to January 2025.
- In February 2026, 36,000 Canadians traveled to Minnesota. This is a 25% decrease relative to February 2024 and down 13% relative to January 2025.
- In March 2026, 41,500 Canadians traveled to Minnesota. This is a 21% decrease relative to March 2024 and a 1% increase relative to March 2025.
According to an April 2026 Longwoods International survey, 57% of Canadian travelers reported that U.S. government policies, trade practices and political statements make them less likely to travel to the U.S. in the next 12 months.
According to their latest forecast, Tourism Economics expects U.S. arrivals from Canada to move toward historical norms. Canadian arrivals to the U.S. were down 21% in 2025, and Tourism Economics anticipates a 6% gain in 2026.
Upcoming Industry Webinars
- Implan, How to Turn Economic Analysis into Clear, Actionable Outputs, May 5, noon CST
- Notified, How to Improve AI Visibility with Press Releases and Syndicated Articles, May 7, 1 p.m. CST
- Explore Minnesota, 2027 Explore Minnesota Tourism Grant Overview, May 12, 1 p.m. CST
- ON24, 25 Quick and Easy Hacks to Boost Webinar Performance, May 12, 1 p.m. CST
- MarketingProfs, Content Marketing Friday Forum, May 15, 10:30 a.m. CST
- Explore Minnesota and Longwoods International, Research: National Resident Sentiment Towards Sporting Events, May 19, 11 a.m. CST