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wo cross-border cities
T caught in the crosshairs of the Trump Tariff trade war and other policies are Detroit, Michigan, USA, and Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The economy and cultures have been intertwined since the 1800s, since they are located on opposite sides of the Detroit River, 2.5 kilometres wide( 1.5 miles). In fact, 40,000 people commute from Windsor into Detroit daily. I spoke with Claude Molinari, president and CEO of Visit Detroit, about the impact of tariffs and other US political policies on the relationship between the two cities and regions.
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He says:“ Annually, almost 800,000 people come to Michigan via land ports from Canada – about 10 % of all tourists to our State. Canadian travel to the US is down 17 % as of early May. As a result, Detroit is seeing an almost 20 % dip in spending from across the border.
“ Our Canadian neighbours are boycotting the US, which is impacting our sports teams, our concerts, our restaurants, our hotels, and our attractions. I understand why they are upset with us. However, I’ m not going to be upset with them for being upset with us.”
Molinari continues:“ We are continuing to advertise in Canada
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“ Canadian travel to the US is down 17 % as of early May.”
Left: Detroit
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Detroit
being mindful about how we do it.” In fact, Visit Detroit engaged a Canadian marketing agency to help formulate a positive message with what appeals to Canadians, along with addressing concerns they may have.
By regularly meeting with their counterpart organisations, businesses, and local governments, Visit Detroit, and Downtown Detroit business leaders are,“ actively working to maintain positive relationships with our neighbours, regardless of the banter going on between the federal or provincial governments.”
This region is the largest commerce point between the two countries in North America, with one of the highest volumes of business in the world. More cars are manufactured in Detroit than anywhere else in America – and the building of each car has parts crossing between 4 or 5 times during the assembly process.
When asked for a piece of advice for our events industry in these uncertain times, Molinari says:“ I strongly believe the pendulum will swing back, maybe not 100 %, but we do believe that US- Canada synergies will continue to be strong which includes economies, culture, and cross border employment.” EW
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14 Issue 3 2025 |
www. exhibitionworld. co. uk |