Visitor spending in Whatcom County dropped in 2025 for first time since pandemic
Canadians continue to boycott the U.S. following U.S. President Donald Trump’s belittling of their country, according to recent data from border crossings, sales figures and other data.
Officials who track such data said it’s affecting Bellingham and the rest of Whatcom County in several ways across the travel and retail sectors.
Border crossings remain low, and those Canadians who do come to the U.S. are visiting family and mostly keep their wallets closed when they travel. They aren’t shopping at retail stores or buying fuel the way they used to, which is one reason that sales-tax revenues for local governments remain flat, said Laurie Trautman, who heads the Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University.
“The last couple of months have been trending up a little bit. I don’t know what’s driving that, but the numbers are still really low,” Trautman told The Bellingham Herald in a phone interview.
Border numbers decline
Border crossings continued to decline last year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation.
Car traffic through the Blaine — the third-busiest U.S.-Canada crossing nationwide — was down 25% in 2025 to 2,433,220 personal cars, from 3,243,799 cars in 2024.
Commercial truck traffic at the Blaine port of entry was 330,536 in 2025, down 5.6% from 350,306 trucks in 2024.
Tourism spending affected
Despite fewer Canadian visitors, tourism spending dropped only slightly last year in Whatcom County, bolstered by travelers to Bellingham from the Seattle area, according to a June 3 report from tourism agency Visit Bellingham.
Visitors spent $772.8 million in Whatcom County in 2025, down 0.4% from 2024.
“In 2025, domestic trips to Whatcom County increased by 4.74%, helping offset that decline in visitation from Canadians. Most significantly, Seattle visitation increased by 9.08%,” Visit Bellingham spokeswoman Becky Mandelbaum told The Herald in an email. “Also, despite the average length of stay going down, spending per overnight party and per overnight visitor per day significantly increased, outpacing inflation.”
Whatcom County hosted approximately 3.49 million visitors in 2025, about the same numbers as 2024, according to the report. Of those travelers, 1.46 million stayed overnight and spent an average $350, up from $300 in 2024.
“Considering the decline in cross-border travel, the slight decrease in spending is not entirely surprising,” Visit Bellingham President & CEO Dylan Deane-Boyle said in a statement. “When we look at per-visitor impact, the story becomes sunnier. Our overnight visitors spent more money per day, and strong spending from day-trippers helped offset what could have been a greater loss in visitor revenue.”
Tax revenue flat
Sales tax revenue to local governments also remains flat, in part because of the change in Canadian travel and shopping habits, according to Andy Asbjornsen, finance director for the city of Bellingham.
“The leveling out of sales taxes is due to many variables. Generally, construction has been the most significant driver of sales tax changes in Bellingham. We have seen a large decrease in Canadian travelers crossing the border; however, we do not have sales tax data by demographic and can’t say definitely how much this has contributed to recent sales tax changes,” Asbjornsen said in an email.
Sales and use taxes brought in $33.6 million to the city in 2025, up from $33.3 in 2024, according to a recent report to the City Council.
Bellingham business closing
A decline in visitors from Canada is one reason that Rock & Rye, a restaurant in the Herald Building is planning to close soon, Administrative Manager Lorraine Sullivan told The Herald.
“We have also noticed a marked difference in how many Canadian guests we serve over the past year especially, down significantly even from peak covid drops,” Sullivan said.
A recent study by the Whatcom Council of Governments bears that out, WCOG Director High Conroy told The Herald. The Council of Governments surveyed travelers at four Whatcom County border crossings in July 2025 and again in February of this year.
“We definitely saw a decrease in the portion of trips made for shopping,” Conroy said in an interview.
Results of the survey, which is expected to be posted at the WCOG website soon, show an increase in trips for family visits and for work assignments, he said.
