Resilience and Optimism: A Message from Travel Manitoba’s President and CEO for 2026

As we reflect on 2025 and look ahead to 2026, one word continues to stand out to me: resilience.

This past year asked a great deal of Manitoba’s tourism industry. It brought moments of success and pride alongside periods of disruption, uncertainty and hardship for many operators. Yet time and again, I saw an industry that adapted, supported one another and kept moving forward. That spirit gives me confidence as we turn our attention to the year ahead.

We entered 2025 with a lot of momentum and hope. International tourism was forecast for growth and domestic travel remained strong, with more Canadians and Manitobans exploring the depth and diversity of experiences available right here in our province.

Then came the most severe wildfire season on record.

Businesses lost bookings during peak travel periods and some businesses suffered damages and losses due to the smoke, flames or fire suppression. While the full economic impact is still being assessed, what is already clear is that many tourism operators faced a very complex summer season.

At the same time, political and economic uncertainty continued to shape travel decisions, trade relationships and consumer confidence. These pressures were felt across the tourism sector, from staffing challenges to fluctuating demand.

And yet even in the midst of disruption, the industry showed extraordinary resolve. Operators adapted their offerings, supported displaced residents and stayed connected with their communities. That resilience is something worth recognizing and celebrating.

In response to the wildfire season, Travel Manitoba launched the Your Heart…Right Place campaign which was designed to reintroduce locals and visitors alike to Manitoba’s world-class iconic experiences, while also helping increase business for tourism business owners and operators in the areas most impacted by the wildfires. In its first four months, the campaign has garnered over a million impressions on Instagram and Facebook, over 4 million on TikTok and another 2.5 million on YouTube. A winter version of the campaign is currently in the market until March and will help boost affected tourism regions and operators heading into the busy spring and summer seasons.

Despite the challenges of 2025, the underlying strength of Manitoba’s tourism economy remains clear.

The most recent data shows that tourism spending increased by four per cent, rising from $1.82 billion in 2023 to $1.89 billion in 2024. For the third year in a row, Manitoba recorded record tourism spending.

This growth was driven primarily by Canadians. Spending by Manitoba residents increased by 10.2 per cent, while spending by other Canadian visitors grew by 5.1 per cent.

Looking at early indicators from 2025, Manitoba is performing better than many jurisdictions when it comes to U.S. visitation. According to Statistics Canada’s Frontier Counts data, U.S. land arrivals to Manitoba increased by 5.4 per cent in 2025 compared to 2024. According to the Winnipeg Airport Authority, the number of U.S. visitors entering Winnipeg by air increased by 13.5 per cent compared to 2024.

While visitation levels remain below 2019 benchmarks, these gains are particularly encouraging given broader declines in U.S. travel to Canada.

Direct air access continues to play a critical role. Winnipeg began 2025 with the highest number of non-stop U.S. routes in its history, however economic pressures and shifting travel patterns have since affected some routes. We continue to work closely with partners to strengthen connectivity, including new and seasonal Canadian routes that support interprovincial travel as well as gateways to Europe like the recently announced Winnipeg to Reykjavik, Iceland route.

Our 2024-25 marketing activities generated nearly $17 in visitor spending for every dollar invested, according to a Tourism Economics report conducted in the fall. The strong returns prove our marketing efforts are delivering the right messages to the right audiences at the right time, benefiting our province and our industry.

Between our Spring Summer and Fall Winter leisure campaigns alone, a $2.3 million marketing investment generated at least $8.56 million in hotel and airline bookings and produced 182,575 attributable leads to Manitoba tourism businesses.

These results demonstrate the value of strategic, data-driven marketing, particularly in an intensely competitive tourism environment.

Travel behaviour is evolving quickly and 2025 reinforced the importance of staying nimble.

One clear shift is the growing role of artificial intelligence in trip planning. In response, Travel Manitoba launched GuideGeek, our AI-powered travel assistant developed with the Matador Network. In its first year, GuideGeek responded to 13,900 visitor queries, providing 24/7 access to information about Manitoba destinations, attractions and accommodations and is available in more than 40 languages.

We also continued to test creative marketing approaches. We partnered with Qantas Airways to promote Churchill to Australian travellers and branded a 26-foot truck travelling across the U.S. Midwest with our Hunt Fish ads to build awareness and collect nearby device details to retarget digital advertising.

These initiatives are about meeting travellers where they are and ensuring Manitoba remains visible and relevant in a rapidly changing marketplace.

Even in a challenging year, there were many moments of pride.

In 2025, we welcomed the global tourism industry to Winnipeg for Rendez-vous Canada, alongside co-hosts Winnipeg Economic Development & Tourism. We celebrated milestone events like the 50th anniversary of the Winnipeg Folk Festival, the 60th anniversary of the Canadian National Ukrainian Festival in Dauphin and the return of the Canadian National Arabian Championship to the Keystone Centre in Brandon. And we once again welcomed fans from across the country during the Grey Cup Festival.

Looking ahead, 2026 and 2027 will bring more major events like the Manitoba Winter Games in Thompson, the Manitoba Indigenous Summer Games in Norway House and Sagkeeng First Nation and the National Summit for Black Canadians and the World Indigenous Business Forum in Winnipeg. These events reinforce Manitoba’s reputation as a place that knows how to host, celebrate and connect.

There is much to be optimistic about in the year ahead.

Canadian travel demand remains strong. Manitobans continue to explore their own province in new ways. Investments in tourism are being recognized as smart economic policy, including the Manitoba government’s $4.5 million increase investment in Travel Manitoba through Budget 2025, including $450,000 in dedicated funding for Indigenous Tourism Manitoba.

From new or growing winter tourism offerings, including a snow lodge being built in Flin Flon to host winter events or the expanding snow pavilion in Wasagaming to major events filling up the calendar, there is no shortage of momentum.

None of this is possible without you. Thank you operators and entrepreneurs, community leaders, partners and advocates for your ingenuity, determination and willingness to collaborate.

This year reminded us that tourism is deeply connected to people, place and community, and 2026 offers an opportunity to build on that foundation with renewed focus, innovation and optimism.

We remain committed to marketing Manitoba to the world and supporting the industry that makes this place so special. I am confident that together we can continue to meet the moment and shape a future that is welcoming, resilient and full of opportunity.

All the best in this new year,

Colin Ferguson
President and CEO
Travel Manitoba

AI was used in the creation of this blog