Hurdles strain Tucson tourism but culture and community endure | News

Tourism in Southern Arizona has always relied on the swing of border traffic and international goodwill. But now, both are under siege.

From Mexico, anxious travelers are watching reports of stepped-up enforcement at the border, with stories of racial profiling and harassment spilling into international media. Court cases have challenged immigration stops made solely on the basis of appearance or language, which, for potential visitors, translates into unease about whether they might face similar scrutiny crossing into Arizona. 

Up north, Canadians bristle at talk of migrant “invasions” and tariffs that threaten their economy — and they’re changing their travel plans accordingly. One poll shows 62% of Canadians now say they’ll avoid U.S. travel this year. 

Even tourists as far away as Germany are second-guessing flights into America, particularly after prolonged detentions of European visitors at U.S. borders made international headlines. “I was held for 16 days,” one German traveler told AP reporters, a caution echoed by EU governments urging vigilance.

With Canadian snowbirds and Mexican day-trippers facing new obstacles — not to mention the Germans — Southern Arizona is still banking on its food, festivals and desert landscapes to sustain its tourism lifeblood. But there’s a lot of bad juju to overcome.

“The international media attention, a lot of it is negative, and unfortunately that is affecting people’s perceptions,” said Cindy Aguilar, Visit Tucson’s vice president of communications. “Not just of Tucson, but of many destinations across the United States.”

The stakes are particularly high for Tucson because international visitors have long formed a dependable base for Southern Arizona’s hotels, restaurants and attractions. “Mexico and Canada are our largest North American visitors, and then internationally, the UK followed by Germany,” said Aguilar.

For Canadian snowbirds, Tucson’s mild winters remain the biggest draw. “Probably the biggest asset we have in Arizona proper is just our weather,” said Diane Frisch, director of Pima County Attractions & Tourism. “When you’re living in Canada and you can come here where we have about 324 days of sunshine, that’s a pretty compelling reason to visit.”

For Mexican visitors, the appeal often blends practicality with tradition. “A lot of the visitors from Mexico come across primarily for shopping,” said Frisch, touching on an everyday facet of American life a lot of Tucsonans take for granted. “There are a lot of wonderful shopping opportunities here that they come to experience as families.” 

Youth sports have also become a powerful connector. “We have a lot of sports here, especially youth sports, that Mexican visitors participate in,” Frisch said. “Cross-border youth sports like soccer and baseball. We now have a Mexican baseball team playing at Keno,” she added. Holidays add another layer: Easter and other family celebrations are frequently paired with shopping and tournaments, creating a rhythm of regular cross-border travel that feeds Tucson’s economy.

Both Aguilar and Frisch stress that despite the political turbulence — or maybe in spite of it — it’s crucial to reinforce Tucson’s message as a welcoming destination. 

“It is very important for Tucson to continue the messaging that we are a welcoming community,” Aguilar said.

That message resonates most when it’s tied to the qualities that make Tucson unique. “People are really invested in having a cultural experience,” said Aguilar. “Tucson and Southern Arizona are really honing in on the history and the multicultural experiences people can have.” The city’s culinary reputation has given it an added edge few destinations can match. “We are a UNESCO City of Gastronomy, and our entire culinary scene is incredible.”

Frisch agrees, pointing out that food is both a tourist magnet and a cultural bridge. “Our culture, they feel very comfortable with it,” she said of the Mexican visitors. “A lot of people here speak Spanish. And then the whole food culture just amplifies that. We take our Mexican food seriously and really embrace it.”

That seriousness plays out in countless ways – from the city’s mezcal and agave bars to its expanding roster of Sonoran restaurants, and even in everyday conversations about thin, circular unleavened flatbread. “This is the only place where you can open up a big, heated conversation just by asking, ‘Where do you get your tortillas?’” Frisch said, with a hearty laugh.

Aguilar points to new initiatives that build on that reputation. “We released ‘America’s Best Mexican Food Field Guide,’ and we are not backing off on it – we are owning it,” she said, pledging to fight anti-immigrant sentiments with savory Sonoran hot dogs and rich Oaxacan molé. “This is what makes us a special and unique destination. And that is what people are looking for in these divisive times.” 

Even as international visitation faces headwinds, domestic tourism is giving Tucson a cushion. With airfare and hotel costs rising, families are rediscovering the car. 

“The road trip is having a comeback,” Aguilar said. “People are now opting to pack the family in a car and take that regional road trip.”

For Phoenix-area travelers, Tucson is positioned as a nearby escape. “Come down to Tucson where it’s 10 degrees cooler! Our hotel prices are really great!” Aguilar plugged. This summer, Visit Tucson even sweetened the pitch with a summer streetcar savings pass, which encouraged visitors to patronize local businesses along the Sun Link streetcar line during the city’s traditionally slower months.

Frisch sees the same trend, though she’s quick to note that Tucson’s appeal isn’t limited to budget-conscious travelers. 

“When people come in and we explain what they can do, they say, ‘Oh my God, I had no idea this was all down here,’” she said. From missions and mariachi festivals to hiking trails minutes from downtown, the region’s compact geography is part of the draw. “You don’t have to drive to Tucson and then drive two hours to go mountain biking. We point at the hill behind the courthouse and say, ‘Well, there’s Tucson Mountain Park!’”

Astronomy has also become a surprising draw, with “astrotourism” trending following the 2024 total solar eclipse over North America. Thanks to Tucson’s pioneering dark sky ordinance, first passed in the 1970s to protect the region’s night skies from light pollution, the region remains one of the best places in the country to see the stars. Visitors can choose from world-class observatories such as Kitt Peak, Mount Lemmon SkyCenter and Whipple Observatory, all of which offer public programs. 

Aguilar says the demand has been strong enough that Visit Tucson recently created a curated guide of dark sky experiences. “The astrotourism movement has been trending for the past couple of years, so Visit Tucson created an Astro Trail map in January of this year.”

With outdoor activities as one of Tucson’s top selling points, protecting those assets has become even more of a priority. 

“We’re very conscious of that — we don’t want to overuse our resources,” Frisch said, emphasizing that an Earth-friendly awareness influences everything from event permitting — ensuring races use refillable hydration packs instead of disposable cups — to the infrastructure at attractions. “Most of our attractions don’t sell plastic water bottles. We all have bottle fillers. We don’t sell styrofoam.”

Aguilar underscores the same commitment on the promotional side. “We actually have an entire department at Visit Tucson that focuses on sustainability,” she said. Visitors can even request itineraries that highlight eco-friendly hotels and restaurants.  “We work with the city of Tucson on a sustainability plan, making sure that we practice what we preach,” she said, adding that this alignment has become central to Tucson’s brand: A destination that’s as invested in stewardship as it is in promoting its natural attractions.

But Frisch is uncertain whether federal policies — and prevailing political attitudes — will also turn against sustainability, which weighs upon prolonged budget plans.

“Sustainable tourism — is it really what the business owners and what the residents are telling us they’re interested in?” she said. From welcoming film crews and festivals to anti-styrofoam policies, Frisch says the county is committed to weighing all new opportunities against their long-term fit with the community. 

“Is this something that’s going to contribute to the local economy and that people will feel good about, or it is a goal that’s going to be difficult to maintain and that the community’s not gonna be happy with?”

One certainty is Tucson’s annual roster of major events, which have proven a stabilizing force in the city’s tourism economy. 

“El Tour de Tucson is very important to us. It brings a lot of bike riders in. I think they’ll be close to 10,000 riders this year,” said Frisch. And the Tucson Gem Show, she added, is still a reliable juggernaut. “We have 46 shows, 39 operators, and that’s like 11 million people that come into the community over a four-week period.”

The county’s owned attractions are also expanding. “Pima Air and Space is opening a new facility — a military tank and Jeep track where people can actually drive a tank,” Frisch said. Pair that with perennial draws like the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and Titan Missile Museum, and Tucson offers an attraction mix few regions can match.

Still, Aguilar emphasizes that what truly distinguishes Tucson isn’t just its attractions or its climate, but its people. 

“Tucson is so special because of our community,” she said. “I’ve never seen so many people that are so passionate about where they live and passionate about taking care of the place they call home.”

In a climate of global uncertainty, the region’s combination of cultural depth, outdoor access and strong community voice offers a model for how tourism can remain both competitive and rooted.

“Our strength, and what we will continue doing,” Aguilar said, “is being flexible, and maintaining our messaging that we are a vibrant and welcoming community.”