Tim McGrath told the News he wears his Yukon shirt 鈥� bought from North of Ordinary in Whitehorse 鈥� with pride.

The 70-year-old from Nanaimo, B.C., has made two trips to the Yukon since 2023.

鈥淭he impetus for that trip was the 125th anniversary of the Gold Rush,鈥� said McGrath, referring to his first trip to the Yukon. 鈥淎nd then we loved it so much we went back a second time.鈥�

McGrath and his wife have visited all over the Yukon: from Whitehorse to Dawson, Carcross to Haines Junction.

鈥淥ne is the physical beauty, but it's also the people. We found that people in the Yukon were extremely friendly,鈥� said McGrath. 鈥淲e loved your camping sites, your provincial campsites with unlimited firewood.鈥�

McGrath is just one of the many tourists who have been flocking to the Yukon in recent years.

Yukon tourism has been faring well, reaching heights not even hit in the era before COVID spilled onto the scene. According to the Yukon government tourism dashboard, in 2024, $575 million of gross business revenue in the Yukon was thanks to tourism. Just over 225,000 passengers landed on the tarmac at Erik Nielsen (in 2019, the number was 206,177, which itself was a peak, almost double the number of arrivals in 2009).

But, the picture is not all rosy: consumer confidence, a measure of economic optimism, is down 17.4 per cent from last year, per the Yukon tourism dashboard. At the same time, Canadians and other nationals participating in travel boycotts to the United States.

Lower 鈥�48 US license plates are beginning to populate the spots at Superstore and Walmart, and the summer tourism season is weeks away. But Canada 鈥� like the rest of the world 鈥� is staring down the barrel of a turbulent relationship with the United States and uncertain times ahead. What will the summer months hold for the tourism industry in the Yukon?

Eduardo Lafforgue is the Yukon鈥檚 director of tourism. In a board room on the second floor of the Yukon Visitor Information Centre in downtown Whitehorse, Lafforgue told the News that the Yukon tourism industry is looking good right now, but they鈥檙e keeping a close eye as the summer nears.

Reservations are up, said Lafforgue.

Spending from travellers coming from other parts of Canada is up 13.6 per cent as of January and February of this year, and 103.6 per cent from the same time period of 2019, according to the tourism department. 

The $575 million in 2024 attributable to tourism smashed goals for the department, as well, said Lafforgue: the department was hoping to hit 525 million by 2028.

The department has started a new marketing campaign, targeting the Prairies, on top of what Lafforgue calls the main traditional Canadian markets (Ontario, B.C., Alberta and Quebec). They鈥檙e also reinforcing Australian and Taiwanese markets, especially as Taiwan appears to be becoming a large market for the Yukon.

The Yukon is a Little Bit Metal campaign 鈥� a tongue-in-cheek campaign meant to spotlight what the Yukon winter has to offer 鈥� flashed on LED screen at Scotia Plaza in Toronto every thirty seconds this past March, said Lafforgue. The reservations began to tick upwards after the first hour, he said.

So far, the Yukon has seen increasing tourism in the shoulder seasons as well, said Lafforgue.

Spending from the overseas market 鈥� Lafforgue thanked the U.K. in particular 鈥� is up 84.6 per cent for the shoulder season, he said.

Ricky Mawunganidze, the executive director of the Klondike Visitors Association in Dawson City, said it is important to maintain the relationship with the American tourists that the city relies on.

Mawunganidze said Americans usually include Dawson in their trips to Alaska. As of right now, Mawunganidze said the association is waiting to see what the effects of current trade tensions would be, but Americans make up a great portion of the Dawson tourism market.

鈥淲hat we want for American visitors is to enjoy the authentic experience that's possible in Dawson,鈥� Mawunganidze told the News.

鈥淎nd part of that is, you know, how do we assist local residents? How do we assist our staffing teams, to be in a position to provide that level of service and quality that creates a unique visitor experience in spite of the geopolitical tensions,鈥� said Mawunganidze.

Mawunganidze added that any tolls placed on the Alaska Highway for commercial tourism travelling up through B.C. would have certain impacts on Dawson.

Ben Ryan, the chair of the Tourism Industry Association of the Yukon, and chief commercial officer of Air North, said it鈥檚 crucial that governments and industry players ensure that Americans know that they鈥檙e welcome here.

鈥淥ne of the big trends now is that American tourists who booked with Canadian tour operators are emailing or reaching out asking, you know, am I going to be welcomed, are there going to be negative experiences due to what's going on between our two countries?鈥�

Ryan said the U.S. is a large part of the tourism market in the Yukon and Canada.

鈥渋t's one thing if Canadians are not going to the States, but it's another thing if Americans stop travelling to Canada. So one of the major themes is trying to minimize damage to the U.S. market coming to Canada,鈥� said Ryan.

Of the border crossings into the Yukon that happened in 2024, 72.5 percent were American in origin, .

Lafforgue of the Yukon department of tourism said Yukon residents鈥� return trips to Alaska decreased 52 per cent in January and February compared to this time last year, whereas Americans crossing into the Yukon rose 33.5 per cent in the same time frame.  

鈥淐onsumer confidence in Canada hit a historic low in March, and we have hit a historic high on the other way. Probably they're missing us,鈥� said Lafforgue, referring to Alaskans. He speculated that the Canadian dollar may be very attractive.

Consumer confidence, according to the Yukon tourism dashboard, is an index of people's optimism in the economy, their personal finances, short-term job prospects, and big purchases. Per the dashboard, when confidence is low, people may travel less or avoid expensive trips, tending to travel within their own country instead of taking big trips. In April 2020, consumer confidence was 48 鈥� in March 2025, consumer confidence was 44. 

That said, Lafforgue acknowledged the situation is still fluid. He said the department is not 鈥渂asking in the sun鈥� despite the good results, and has plans in place that would be triggered should indicators start changing.

Ryan said there is still an opportunity to target people outside the U.S. who may be boycotting travel to the U.S. as well.

鈥淭here's growing evidence that some countries are sort of philosophically opposed to travelling to the US right now,鈥� said Ryan.

鈥淚f you study the just the volume of business that typically does go to the US, it's quite huge. So there is potential that little pockets within Canada actually see growth from international markets. And the Yukon is probably well-positioned to capture some of that,鈥� Ryan said, referencing the Yukon鈥檚 ties to markets in German-speaking Europe, the United Kingdom, France and Australia.

Adam Gerle sits on the Tourism Industry Association of the Yukon鈥檚 board of directors: he also runs Maverick Marketing, and is the vice-chair of the Yukon Convention Bureau. He said some Europeans are afraid to go to the United States 鈥� and that the Yukon should take advantage of that.

However, there is a fine balance to be struck: Carolyn Moore, a spokesperson for the Yukon tourism department, said you do not want to bring in tourists that you cannot provide a good experience for.

鈥淭here's a relationship between marketing and destination development, where you want to market tourists to come, and then you have to have things for people to do when they come, and have places for them to be,鈥� she said.

鈥淭he worst that we can do is bring, create frustration. You bring people that we cannot service, that we can not bring the right accommodation, that we are over capacity,鈥� Lafforgue said.

Ryan, of the Tourism Industry Association, said there鈥檚 a 鈥渢remendous wave of investment in the sector right now, and investment in the Yukon broadly.鈥�

He listed Air North鈥檚 investment in bringing larger aircraft online by purchasing two Boeing 737-800s, NVD鈥檚 115-room Hyatt Hotel set to open in downtown Whitehorse this summer, and the recent multi-million-dollar federal investment into a new convention centre in Whitehorse.

鈥淪o it's hard not to have a level of confidence and belief in our resilience when you have that type of investment taking place,鈥� said Ryan.

Gerle said that he鈥檚 understands people feel 鈥渃autious鈥� about the $75-million combined federal and territorial investment in the convention centre, especially with other issues in the territory existing, like housing and healthcare.

However he said that the economic effect of conferences is 鈥渁 magic bullet.鈥�

鈥淚t fills up planes, hotels, restaurants, shops, people do breakout trips to the communities. So there is an economic impact,鈥� he said.

Gerle said the convention centre will also be an asset for the community by hosting events for Whitehorse residents. He suggests the convention centre will pay for itself, as long as it is not sitting empty for half of the year.

However, getting people into that shiny new convention centre and at the breakfast bar in the yet-to-open Hyatt is a different question: travelling Canada by air has tended to be quite expensive and inaccessible for many Canadians, according to Ryan of TIAY and Air North.

鈥淐anadians historically have tended to flock south of the border or international and a lot of that has to do with straight up, you know, air access,鈥� said Ryan. 鈥淏ut I think the Yukon has every reason to pride itself on having, you know, good, reliable, strong air access.鈥�

Gerle said air access is vital for the Yukon tourism market. He said investing to enable Erik Nielsen airport to accept international flights, direct from Europe or Asia, could go a long way addressing issues of air access.

鈥淛ust having people in Europe, knowing you could fly to the Yukon direct from Germany, was a huge marketing tool right there,鈥� said Gerle. 鈥淪o just having that exist, sells.鈥�

Krysten Johnson, a spokesperson from the Yukon department of highways and public works said that will increase the airport鈥檚 ability to accommodate a wider variety of aircraft, including larger international planes.

However, there are other considerations beyond the runway itself: those considerations include the terminal infrastructure, security screening, Canada Border Service Agency requirements, as well as fire protection standards, she said.

鈥淲e鈥檙e working closely with the Department of Tourism and Culture to assess potential demand and determine what additional upgrades or resources may be needed to support future international flights,鈥� said Johnson in an email to the News on April 15.

Carolyn Moore said arrivals and spending from German-speaking tourists increased 22 per cent in 2024 compared to 2023 -- partially thanks to the interline agreements between Condor, Air North, WestJet and Air Canada. 

As for Tim McGrath, in Nanaimo, he said that he鈥檇 recommend a visit the territory to his friends.

鈥淔or somebody who lives in a city most of the time,鈥� said McGrath. 鈥淚t's just absolutely so refreshing to see how beautiful it is.鈥�

And since then, McGrath has convinced his local liquor store to stock Yukon Brewing beer which he first tried on his trip north. 

鈥淪o, you know, we're getting your beer,鈥� he said. 鈥淏.C. is known for their craft beer, so for Yukon Brewing to be able to, you know, be able to buy it here, it's amazing.鈥�