Project Snowbird

The Project Sunbelt Initiative: Advancing the Canada–Arizona Visitor Economy

The Project Sunbelt Initiative is a long-term strategic initiative designed to strengthen and expand the entire Canada–Arizona visitor economy by integrating tourism, seasonal residency (Snowbirds), business travel, conferences, sports tourism, education, healthcare, and investment attraction into one coordinated economic development strategy. Rather than viewing Canadian visitors simply as tourists, the initiative recognizes them as part of a continuum of economic engagement—from first-time leisure travelers and convention attendees to seasonal residents, entrepreneurs, investors, corporate executives, and ultimately long-term business partners.

The initiative reflects the Canada Arizona Business Council’s long-standing belief that Arizona should recognize the full value of Canadian tourists and Snowbirds. For more than two decades, the Council has championed the idea that tourism is not the destination—it is the beginning of a much broader economic relationship. A vacation can lead to seasonal residency, business investment, entrepreneurship, real estate ownership, community engagement, and lifelong commercial partnerships. The Project Sunbelt Initiative builds upon this philosophy by encouraging Arizona to recognize and maximize the complete economic value Canadian visitors contribute to the state.

Tourism is where it all starts. For many Canadians, their relationship with Arizona begins with a vacation, a golf trip, a sporting event, a convention, or a winter escape. Those first visits frequently become annual vacations and, over time, many tourists become Snowbirds who return to Arizona each winter. As those relationships deepen, many purchase second homes, establish long-term ties to local communities, support Arizona businesses, utilize healthcare services, access hospitals and specialty medical providers, volunteer with charitable organizations, and become active participants in the state’s economy. Some ultimately establish businesses, invest in Arizona companies, relocate permanently, or become ambassadors who encourage family, friends, and business associates to visit, invest, or do business in Arizona. The initiative recognizes tourism as the front door to Arizona’s broader economy and seeks to maximize the economic value created at every stage of that journey.

This philosophy has become a cornerstone of the Canada Arizona Business Council’s vision for strengthening bilateral economic relations. The Council believes that every Canadian tourist and every Snowbird represents an opportunity to build a deeper relationship with Arizona that can ultimately lead to repeat visitation, seasonal residency, business investment, entrepreneurship, workforce attraction, and lasting commercial partnerships.

The initiative is not intended to duplicate the work of tourism organizations or conduct primary research. Instead, it serves as a collaborative platform that helps industry leaders, government agencies, communities, and businesses better understand, coordinate, and maximize the full economic impact Canadian tourists and Snowbirds have across Arizona. By bringing together existing information, industry expertise, and public-private partnerships, the initiative encourages a more coordinated approach to visitor attraction, destination development, and long-term economic growth.

The initiative promotes greater awareness of how Canadian tourists and Snowbirds support Arizona’s economy through accommodations, restaurants, golf, retail, entertainment, healthcare services, hospitals, physician practices, specialty medical care, dental and vision services, pharmacies, transportation, professional services, education, real estate, construction, home services, and investment. It encourages collaboration among tourism organizations, airports, municipalities, convention and visitors bureaus, economic development organizations, industry associations, healthcare providers, and private-sector businesses to strengthen Arizona’s position as the premier U.S. destination for Canadian visitors.

Canadian tourists and Snowbirds also represent a significant source of tax revenue for Arizona and its local communities. Every visit generates economic activity that supports state, county, and municipal revenues through lodging taxes, sales taxes, restaurant and entertainment spending, transportation services, retail purchases, recreation, professional services, and numerous other consumer expenditures. Seasonal residents further contribute through property taxes, vehicle registrations, licensing fees, utilities, home maintenance, home improvements, insurance, and ongoing purchases that support local businesses throughout the year. In addition to these direct expenditures, Canadian Snowbirds provide an important source of demand for Arizona’s healthcare system, supporting hospitals, physicians, outpatient clinics, rehabilitation centers, pharmacies, and other healthcare providers while contributing to one of the state’s largest employment sectors. The initiative seeks to ensure these broad fiscal contributions are fully recognized as an essential component of Arizona’s visitor economy, demonstrating that Canadian visitation strengthens not only private-sector businesses but also the public revenues that help fund infrastructure, public safety, parks, transportation, tourism promotion, healthcare, and other essential community services across the state.

The Canada Arizona Business Council believes Arizona has only begun to recognize the full value of Canadian tourists and Snowbirds. While visitor spending is widely recognized, their broader contribution extends much further. Canadian visitors generate significant tax revenues, purchase homes, support hospitals, physicians, specialty medical providers, clinics, pharmacies, dental and vision practices, rehabilitation services, home service companies, retailers, restaurants, and thousands of small businesses throughout Arizona. They invest in businesses, create jobs, volunteer within communities, support charitable organizations, and strengthen long-term economic ties between Arizona and Canada. Their annual presence also provides an important source of revenue for Arizona’s healthcare sector, helping support hospitals, medical professionals, and healthcare infrastructure while sustaining thousands of high-quality jobs. The initiative encourages a broader perspective that views Canadian tourists and Snowbirds as long-term economic contributors whose impact spans virtually every sector of Arizona’s economy.

Rather than creating new research programs, the initiative helps identify existing information, encourage collaboration, share best practices, highlight emerging trends, facilitate dialogue among stakeholders, and promote coordinated strategies that strengthen Arizona’s visitor economy. It serves as a catalyst that brings together organizations already working in tourism, hospitality, healthcare, transportation, economic development, sports, education, and business while encouraging a broader understanding of how Canadian visitation benefits every region of Arizona.

The initiative also recognizes that many Canadian business relationships begin with a vacation, conference, sporting event, or seasonal stay. By encouraging stronger connections between tourism promotion and economic development efforts, it helps communities identify opportunities to convert visitors into future investors, business partners, entrepreneurs, second-home owners, and long-term contributors to Arizona’s economy.

The initiative further supports expanded air connectivity, province-specific marketing, year-round travel promotion, sports tourism, medical and wellness travel, educational exchanges, cultural tourism, and stronger collaboration between the public and private sectors. It encourages communities throughout Arizona to recognize the significant economic contributions Canadian visitors make while identifying opportunities to enhance those relationships and strengthen Arizona’s competitiveness within the North American visitor economy.

Beyond tourism promotion, the initiative encourages Arizona’s public and private sectors to view Canadian tourists and Snowbirds as long-term economic development assets. They generate business opportunities, support workforce development, contribute to charitable organizations, purchase homes, invest in local businesses, strengthen Arizona’s healthcare economy, and often become ambassadors who encourage additional travel, investment, and commercial relationships between Arizona and Canada. Strengthening these connections helps diversify Arizona’s economy while reinforcing one of the state’s most valuable international partnerships.

Environmental sustainability and responsible growth are also important components of the initiative. As visitor activity continues to evolve, Arizona must balance tourism expansion with responsible water management, transportation planning, infrastructure investment, conservation, public safety, and environmental stewardship. The initiative encourages partnerships that support sustainable tourism practices while preserving the natural landscapes, parks, recreational assets, and cultural experiences that make Arizona a preferred destination for Canadian visitors.

Ultimately, the initiative represents far more than a tourism strategy—it is a comprehensive economic development initiative designed to deepen one of North America’s strongest cross-border relationships. It reflects the Canada Arizona Business Council’s vision that tourism should serve as the catalyst for broader economic engagement between Arizona and Canada. By bringing together tourism, seasonal residency, business travel, healthcare, investment, community development, and long-term collaboration under a single strategic framework, the initiative helps maximize the full value of Canadian tourists and Snowbirds. In doing so, it supports Arizona businesses, strengthens the healthcare sector, generates tax revenues, creates jobs, encourages investment, strengthens communities, and reinforces the long-term prosperity of the Canada–Arizona partnership.

The Project Sunbelt Initiative is built on one simple principle: tourism is where it all starts. Tourists become repeat visitors. Repeat visitors become Snowbirds. Snowbirds become homeowners, investors, entrepreneurs, business partners, philanthropists, and lifelong ambassadors for Arizona. This progression reflects the Canada Arizona Business Council’s belief that the visitor economy is one of Arizona’s most powerful gateways to international business development. By recognizing and nurturing every stage of that journey, the initiative creates a framework that transforms tourism into one of Arizona’s most powerful engines for long-term economic growth, public revenue generation, business development, investment attraction, healthcare support, and stronger Canada–Arizona relations for generations to come.