Research
Explore Minnesota (EMN) gathers and analyzes detailed, timely data to support Minnesota’s tourism industry. Research and data fall into three types:
- Third-party measurement of tourism economic impacts and advertising effectiveness
- Primary and secondary research to track leisure travel trends
- Custom research focused on Minnesota visitors and brand health
This research can be used to inform your strategy and stakeholder work. Contact [email protected] with questions or suggestions.
Travel Indicators & Trends
We regularly review Minnesota travel indicators to better understand industry trends.
2026 Winter/Spring Travel Indicators
2026 Winter Tourism Business Trends
2025 Spring/Summer Travel Indicators
Tourism & the Economy
When we tell our industry’s story, EMN highlights the economic benefits of tourism for all Minnesotans. We partner with Tourism Economics annually to quantify state and county-level impacts of Minnesota’s visitor economy. With the Minnesota Department of Revenue, we also monitor Leisure & Hospitality (L&H) industry sales, taxes and employment.
NOTE: L&H data trends and tourism economic impact have different definitions. While L&H hospitality data collects total sales, tourism economic impact data reflects activity from visitors more than 50 miles from their home. For example, if you were to buy quick cafe lunch two miles from your home, this sale is included in L&H data. It would not be captured in tourism visitor spend or economic impacts.
Vendor Research Studies
We partner with vendors to conduct research that supports Minnesota travel marketing and communications.
Other Resources
Additional travel, tourism and economic data and research