a Canada Tourism Toronto is now joins Vancouver, Montréal, Calgary, Edmonton, and Halifax in a record-breaking surge in Canadian tourism for the first half of 2025. This increase demonstrates the different ways in which Canada is embarking on a new era in the growth of tourism. Toronto is now part of the group of cities which are setting new record growth. Vancouver works in tandem with Toronto in welcoming both domestic and international visitors. Montréal is part of this record tourism surge with its culture, events, and festivals. Calgary is onboard with robust airline connections alongside growth in hotel occupancy rates. Edmonton joins with increased family travel, sports tourism, and convention attendance. Halifax joins as Atlantic Canada emerges as a leading tourism region. Collectively, Toronto, Vancouver, Montréal, Calgary, Edmonton, and Halifax are redefining Canadian tourism growth and surpassing all expectations.
The first half of 2025 is particularly astounding, as there continues to be an increase in demand, regardless of enduring challenges on a global level. as evidenced by soaring hotel stays, air travel, and spending in the region. Toronto is now at par with Toronto as a leader in business travel, major events and tourism. Vancouver is now emerging as a leader in cruise tourism alongside nature tourism. Montreal is emerging as a leader in international tourism driven by the allure of its French culture and charm. Domestic tourists to Calgary are now venturing to the Rockies as well as the city. Edmonton is emerging as a leader in offering low cost urban adventures. Halifax is noteworthy for blending its culture, food along with the maritime heritage.
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Toronto: Big Numbers and Big Spending
Toronto continues to lead in Canada regarding tourist arrivals and spending. From January to June of 2025, close to 4 million visitors arrived, and spending reached nearly $3.9 billion. This is a modest improvement from 2024 despite a 1% decline in total visitors. The reasoning for this is clear: business and conference travellers who visit spend more, especially on services and hospitality.
Hotel occupancy did not change, retaining its 68% figure, while demand increased by 2%. In addition, the city performed well in the meetings and events segment, which also produced a direct economic impact of over $450 million. This Emphasis on Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions or MICE has saved the city by providing a balance between leisure tourism and more valuable visitors.
With Toronto it becomes even more clear that the approach to tourism needs to change: it is not only about the number of visitors, but how the money is spent. Through pursuing high-impact travellers, the city has been and will be able to maintain profitability in the tourism industry.
Vancouver: Canada’s Premium Destination
Vancouver continues to lead as the most expensive and high-end tourism market in Canada. In May 2025, hotel occupancy hit 83.3%, accompanied by an average daily rate of $306, which is the highest in the country. Vancouver continues to attracts global visits which translates to commanding top prices.
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The city’s natural location, the ocean and the mountains, draws in business and leisure visitors. The cruise industry is recovering, with Vancouver as a major homeport for Alaskan voyages, resulting in an inflow of visitors which has pushed hotels close to full capacity during spring and summer.
Vancouver exemplifies the equilibrium of natural beauty with tourism infrastructure. It remains in high demand despite the steep prices, which proves travellers appreciate the city’s blend of experiences.
Montréal: Culture Driving Occupancy and Rates
Montréal’s tourism industry experienced a notable recovery in 2025, owing to the city’s cultural attributes and its festival calendar. Hotel occupancies set to surged to around 80% from June to September, reaching 85% during major events. During the second quarter, the city’s occupancy averaged 73% and showed strong RevPAR growth. Average daily room rates increased by almost 7% year on year to $248 in May.
Montréal’s festivals certainly stand as the city’s primary competitive advantage. Summer season festivals such as the International Jazz Festival and Just for Laughs enjoy substantial international attendance. Montreal’s strong air links with Europe continue to support a steady inflow of visitors.
Montréal teaches the rest of the world one simple lesson: events, coupled with a unique cultural identity, enable tourism, even in highly competitive contexts. This is done by providing what other competing destinations cannot, sustaining high occupancy coupled with high rates.
Calgary: Events Fuel a Tourism Boom
Calgary is one of the Canadian cities which performed best in the second-quarter. The Global Energy Show boosted hotel occupancy rates to 85.5%, a 12% increase year-on-year in June 2025. Even more remarkable was the increase in the average daily rates, which rose by 34% and a 50% increase in RevPAR.
These figures illustrate the effectiveness of event-based tourism. While the Calgary Stampede has been a long-standing iconic event, business tourism in the form of international conferences and shows are strategically positioned throughout the year to manage demand. These have been an integral component of Calgary’s long-term business tourism strategy and are key to ensuring sustainable revenue for the city’s hotels and restaurants beyond the primary leisure seasons.
As is evident from Calgary, even smaller Canadian cities are able to compete on the international stage by strategically marketing niche and industry-related associate gatherings. With the right planning, tourism even in poorly-performing markets can thrive.
Edmonton: Strength Through Provincial Momentum
Edmonton’s Q2 reporting is made more impressive by the results for the rest of theA ‘Berta. The province reported hotel occupancy of 71.4% in June 2025, an increase of nearly 4% year on year. City-specific numbers were not completely published, but alongside Calgary, Edmonton was identified as a primary driver of Alberta’s growth.
Edmonton is the ‘Festival City’ and is gaining recognition for hosting the Edmonton Folk Festival and the Fringe Theatre Festival.
Edmonton is focused on long-term, sustainable tourism growth, and is capitalizing on Alberta’s brand. The collaboration between these regions is clearly benefitting the entire province in demand.n a Canada Tourism n a Canada Tourism n a Canada Tourism n a Canada Tourism n a Canada Tourism n a Canada Tourism n a Canada Tourismn a Canada Tourism n a Canada Tourism n a Canada Tourism
Halifax: A Rising Star in Atlantic Canada
Halifax is one of the fastest growing tourism markets in Canada in 2025. Following the record-setting milestone of 1.63 million hotel room nights in 2024, the city is continuing to improve this year. Early summer data indicated robust demand, with near-full hotel occupancy on weekends.
The waterfront and the cruise industry along with the city’s thriving culinary scene along with the growing hotel industry are attracting visitors both internationally and within the country. Furthermore, Halifax’s geographical position as a gateway to the Atlantic Canada makes it a primary stop for inbound tourists traversing the region. The city has successfully marketed itself as both a leisure and business travel destination, thus making it adaptable to shifts in travel patterns.
Halifax’s story illustrates how the smaller markets can outperform larger competitors by blending local culture and global access. The city’s growth strongly supports the case for Atlantic Canada as a whole to become a more prominent part of the national tourism map.
Québec City: High Occupancy in the Old Capital
Though not mentioned in the title, Québec City certainly merits consideration. Hotel occupancy reached over 80% in June and July, peaking at 87% during the Festival d’été. On certain days, both revenues and occupancy levels surpassed 90%.
Québec City is capitalizing on its historical sites, festivals, and business tourism. Even midsized cities are able to achieve remarkable tourism results when they capitalize on their history and have an appropriately scheduled calendar of events. This also illustrates the fact that growth in Canadian tourism is not restricted to the largest centers only.
Kelowna: A Mixed Picture of Growth and Decline
Kelowna in British Columbia serves as a cautionary tale. Hotels and short-term rentals performed well in Q2 2025 with both occupancies and rates surpassing last year’s figures. Nonetheless, visitor spending decreased by 6%, especially in recreation and entertainment. This illustrates the growing trend for Canadian travellers: while booking accommodation, they scrimp on spending for dining, tours, shopping, and other services.
The city is now pivoting towards business events and conventions as a means to offset this shortfall. With bids scheduled as far out as 2030, Kelowna aims to offset spending with high-value business travellers. This approach is already implemented by larger cities like Toronto and Calgary.
Kelowna’s experience shows us that the headline hotel performance metrics often conceal deeper insights. In the absence of robust discretionary spending, a large number of small businesses in tourism-dependent towns struggle to get by.
National Picture: Canada’s Tourism Resilience
Projected for Q2 2025, one observation is apparent. There is strong tourism growth in Canadian cities stemming from, international demand, events, and a steady recovery in business travel. Hotels nationwide have reported improved occupancy, stronger rates, and a healthier RevPAR compared to 2024.
Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton, and Halifax are at the forefront of the growth. Each city has leveraged its particular strength, for instance, business events in Toronto, premium rate yield in Vancouver, and cruise and lifestyle appeal in Halifax. Toronto hosted business events. Montreal is hosting cultural festivals and Halifaz with regional and cruising festivals, Edmonton also has regional appeal while Calgary is hosting exhibitions.
The only area of concern is the secondary leisure markets like Kelowna, where occupancy may be increasing, but visitor spending is decreasing. This is a reflection of the increasing pressures on household budgets in the United States and Canada.
Toronto joins Vancouver, Montréal, Calgary, Edmonton, and Halifax in a Canada tourism surge because all six cities have broken visitor records in the first half of 2025, driven by strong hotel stays, rising international arrivals, and booming events.
A Well-Rounded Canadian Tourism Surge
The first portion of 2025 indicates that Canada is entering a new phase of tourism growth. Not only has the pandemic recovery resulted in the full recovery of city tourism, but in many cases, tourism is reaching new heights. Nearly all markets are reporting vigorous hotel occupancy, high spending, and elevated rates.
The core of Canadian tourism is composed of the cities of Toronto, Vancouver, Montréal, Calgary, Edmonton, and Halifax. These cities, as well as the rest of Canada, are demonstrating allomembrial resilience, ingenuity, and responsiveness to global travel in the face of difficulties. These cities are exemplifying premium business and cultural events that showcase Canadian ingenuity.
The first portion of 2025 indicates that Canada is entering a new phase of tourism growth. Not only has the pandemic recovery resulted in the full recovery of city tourism, but in many cases, tourism is reaching new heights. Canada is well poised to outperform the tourism growth targets set for 2025.
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