Minnesota Bets on ‘Neighborism’ to Rebuild Tourism After ICE Crackdown

Minneapolis was once again thrown into the national spotlight this year after an immigration crackdown prompted protests, thousands of arrests, and the fatal shooting of two U.S. citizens.

But heartwarming headlines emerged amid the chaos. Stories of residents holding food drives and donating winter coats to those released from federal custody, or delivering groceries and  laundry to families too afraid to leave their homes. 

Headlines like these helped inspire Explore Minnesota’s latest campaign, “Come Visit Your Neighbors in Minnesota.” The hope is that the state’s friendly reputation can help dig it out of the tourism slump fueled by ICE’s presence.

“We really felt like it was a moment for us to take all the things that have happened and reintroduce Minnesota to the world,” said Lauren Bennett McGinty, Explore Minnesota’s executive director. “We as Minnesotans wanted to help tell our story so people could see who we really are and want to come to Minnesota and experience that joy and compassion for themselves.” 

Taking Inspiration from The Atlantic

While Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Operation Metro Surge isn’t referenced directly in the campaign’s video, Explore Minnesota makes clear that the campaign was inspired by recent events.

“When Adam Serwer defined Minnesotans as good neighbors in The Atlantic, we agreed,” reads the video’s description on YouTube. “When you come to Minnesota, whether it’s for a few days or an entire lifetime, you’ll become our neighbor, too.”

Serwer’s article, “Minnesota Proved MAGA Wrong,” highlights the stories of Minnesotans resisting the federal operation through food deliveries, protests in sub-zero temperatures, and by alerting neighborhoods to ICE’s presence. 

“If the Minnesota resistance has an overarching ideology, you could call it ‘neighborism’ — a commitment to protecting the people around you, no matter who they are or where they came from,” the article reads. 

The term and its definition kicks off the start of the Explore Minnesota campaign’s minute-and-a-half long advertisement. The video highlights uniquely Minnesotan experiences like meat raffles, dipping into a frozen lake, and paying a visit to Sweet Martha’s Cookie Jar at the state fair. But it also features its “Minnesota nice” reputation with clips of a bundled-up resident pushing a car out of a snow bank and a man offering a friendly wave from a sail boat.  

The word, neighborism, “really represented who we are as Minnesotans, people who sort of commit to protecting one another,” Bennett McGinty said.

As part of the campaign, billboards in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Portland, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. call on travelers to “come visit your neighbors in Minnesota.”  

When asked if the team considered it risky to draw inspiration from an article that critiques the Trump administration, Bennett McGinty said there’s always the risk that a campaign won’t resonate with everyone, but she hopes its message rises above politics. 

“Some people might feel one way about us talking about our resilience and our community and our neighborism,” she said. “For us it was really about, make this about the people. Make this about the individuals here who make this place special, and don’t focus on politics. But focus on the idea that you can be a good neighbor to someone no matter their political affiliation.”

A recent survey from YouGov and Meet Minneapolis, the city’s destination marketing organization, found political affiliation is already influencing future intent to visit the state within the next 12 months, with Democrats 30% likely or neutral versus 14% of Republicans.

And while respondents said they were more familiar with the city than they were a year ago, that hasn’t yet translated into an increased intent to visit. According to the survey:

• There was a 19% increase in familiarity with Minneapolis compared to an April 2025 survey.

• Fewer than 20% of the respondents who were “somewhat familiar” with the city said they were likely to visit within the next 12 months.  
• Nearly half of those surveyed believe the Operation Metro Surge damaged the city’s reputation.

A Challenging Time for Tourism

Economic pressures and a decline in Canadian visitors had already taken a hit to Minnesota tourism. Local businesses say ICE’s actions only made matters worse. 

• Nearly half of roughly 250 tourism and hospitality businesses surveyed by Explore Minnesota in February reported a decrease in business over the winter season. 
• Another survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and Hospitality Minnesota found over half of businesses reported a negative impact from immigration enforcement activity, including staff absences and lower customer demand.  
• While occupancy rates at Minneapolis hotels with at least 50 rooms were up in January — likely due to a surge in federal agents in the area — rates fell year-over-year in February and March, according to data shared by Meet Minneapolis. 
• Air passenger volumes are also down, dropping 1.8% in February and 4% in January, according to the latest figures from the Minneapolis Saint Paul Metropolitan Airports Commission.

“With the federal presence in Minnesota, we really were seeing how it impacted all of our hospitality businesses and communities across the state,” Bennett McGinty said. “In a time where we really saw that hurt and that pain, but also just a lot of businesses struggling to keep up, we really wanted to help. We wanted to push the idea that Minnesota is the most neighborly state in the nation.”