Toronto Joins Vancouver, Montréal, Calgary, Edmonton, And Halifax In A Canada Tourism Surge Breaking Records In The First Half Of 2025

Published on August 27, 2025

By: Rana Pratap

Toronto is now joins Vancouver, Montréal, Calgary, Edmonton, and Halifax successful a record-breaking surge successful Canadian tourism for nan first half of 2025. This summation demonstrates nan different ways successful which Canada is embarking connected a caller era successful nan maturation of tourism. Toronto is now portion of nan group of cities which are mounting caller grounds growth. Vancouver useful successful tandem pinch Toronto successful welcoming some home and world visitors. Montréal is portion of this grounds tourism surge pinch its culture, events, and festivals. Calgary is onboard pinch robust hose connections alongside maturation successful edifice occupancy rates. Edmonton joins pinch accrued family travel, sports tourism, and normal attendance. Halifax joins arsenic Atlantic Canada emerges arsenic a starring tourism region. Collectively, Toronto, Vancouver, Montréal, Calgary, Edmonton, and Halifax are redefining Canadian tourism maturation and surpassing each expectations.

The first half of 2025 is peculiarly astounding, arsenic location continues to beryllium an summation successful demand, sloppy of enduring challenges connected a world level. arsenic evidenced by soaring edifice stays, aerial travel, and spending successful nan region. Toronto is now astatine par pinch Toronto arsenic a leader successful business travel, awesome events and tourism. Vancouver is now emerging arsenic a leader successful cruise tourism alongside quality tourism. Montreal is emerging arsenic a leader successful world tourism driven by nan allure of its French civilization and charm. Domestic visitors to Calgary are now venturing to nan Rockies arsenic good arsenic nan city. Edmonton is emerging arsenic a leader successful offering debased costs municipality adventures. Halifax is noteworthy for blending its culture, nutrient on pinch nan maritime heritage.

Toronto: Big Numbers and Big Spending

Toronto continues to lead successful Canada regarding tourer arrivals and spending. From January to June of 2025, adjacent to 4 cardinal visitors arrived, and spending reached astir $3.9 billion. This is simply a humble betterment from 2024 contempt a 1% diminution successful full visitors. The reasoning for this is clear: business and convention travellers who sojourn walk more, particularly connected services and hospitality.

Hotel occupancy did not change, retaining its 68% figure, while request accrued by 2%. In addition, nan metropolis performed good successful nan meetings and events segment, which besides produced a nonstop economical effect of complete $450 million. This Emphasis connected Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions aliases MICE has saved nan metropolis by providing a equilibrium betwixt leisure tourism and much valuable visitors.

With Toronto it becomes moreover much clear that nan attack to tourism needs to change: it is not only astir nan number of visitors, but really nan money is spent. Through pursuing high-impact travellers, nan metropolis has been and will beryllium capable to support profitability successful nan tourism industry.

Vancouver: Canada’s Premium Destination

Vancouver continues to lead arsenic nan astir costly and high-end tourism marketplace successful Canada. In May 2025, edifice occupancy deed 83.3%, accompanied by an mean regular complaint of $306, which is nan highest successful nan country. Vancouver continues to attracts world visits which translates to commanding apical prices.

The city’s earthy location, nan water and nan mountains, draws successful business and leisure visitors. The cruise manufacture is recovering, pinch Vancouver arsenic a awesome homeport for Alaskan voyages, resulting successful an inflow of visitors which has pushed hotels adjacent to afloat capacity during outpouring and summer.

Vancouver exemplifies nan equilibrium of earthy beauty pinch tourism infrastructure. It remains successful precocious request contempt nan steep prices, which proves travellers admit nan city’s blend of experiences.

Montréal: Culture Driving Occupancy and Rates

Montréal’s tourism manufacture knowledgeable a notable betterment successful 2025, owing to nan city’s taste attributes and its show calendar. Hotel occupancies group to surged to astir 80% from June to September, reaching 85% during awesome events. During nan 2nd quarter, nan city’s occupancy averaged 73% and showed beardown RevPAR growth. Average regular room rates accrued by almost 7% twelvemonth connected twelvemonth to $248 successful May.

Montréal’s festivals surely guidelines arsenic nan city’s superior competitory advantage. Summer play festivals specified arsenic nan International Jazz Festival and Just for Laughs bask important world attendance. Montreal’s beardown aerial links pinch Europe proceed to support a dependable inflow of visitors.

Montréal teaches nan remainder of nan world 1 elemental lesson: events, coupled pinch a unsocial taste identity, alteration tourism, moreover successful highly competitory contexts. This is done by providing what different competing destinations cannot, sustaining precocious occupancy coupled pinch precocious rates.

Calgary: Events Fuel a Tourism Boom

Calgary is 1 of nan Canadian cities which performed champion successful nan second-quarter. The Global Energy Show boosted edifice occupancy rates to 85.5%, a 12% summation year-on-year successful June 2025. Even much singular was nan summation successful nan mean regular rates, which roseate by 34% and a 50% summation successful RevPAR.

These figures exemplify nan effectiveness of event-based tourism. While nan Calgary Stampede has been a long-standing iconic event, business tourism successful nan shape of world conferences and shows are strategically positioned passim nan twelvemonth to negociate demand. These person been an integral constituent of Calgary’s semipermanent business tourism strategy and are cardinal to ensuring sustainable gross for nan city’s hotels and restaurants beyond nan superior leisure seasons.

As is evident from Calgary, moreover smaller Canadian cities are capable to compete connected nan world shape by strategically trading niche and industry-related subordinate gatherings. With nan correct planning, tourism moreover successful poorly-performing markets tin thrive.

Edmonton: Strength Through Provincial Momentum

Edmonton’s Q2 reporting is made much awesome by nan results for nan remainder of theA ‘Berta. The state reported edifice occupancy of 71.4% successful June 2025, an summation of astir 4% twelvemonth connected year. City-specific numbers were not wholly published, but alongside Calgary, Edmonton was identified arsenic a superior driver of Alberta’s growth.

Edmonton is nan ‘Festival City’ and is gaining nickname for hosting nan Edmonton Folk Festival and nan Fringe Theatre Festival.

Edmonton is focused connected long-term, sustainable tourism growth, and is capitalizing connected Alberta’s brand. The collaboration betwixt these regions is intelligibly benefitting nan full state successful demand.

Halifax: A Rising Star successful Atlantic Canada

Halifax is 1 of nan fastest increasing tourism markets successful Canada successful 2025. Following nan record-setting milestone of 1.63 cardinal edifice room nights successful 2024, nan metropolis is continuing to amended this year. Early summertime information indicated robust demand, pinch near-full edifice occupancy connected weekends.

The waterfront and nan cruise manufacture on pinch nan city’s thriving culinary segment on pinch nan increasing edifice manufacture are attracting visitors some internationally and wrong nan country. Furthermore, Halifax’s geographical position arsenic a gateway to nan Atlantic Canada makes it a superior extremity for inbound visitors traversing nan region. The metropolis has successfully marketed itself arsenic some a leisure and business recreation destination, frankincense making it adaptable to shifts successful recreation patterns.

Halifax’s communicative illustrates really nan smaller markets tin outperform larger competitors by blending section civilization and world access. The city’s maturation powerfully supports nan lawsuit for Atlantic Canada arsenic a full to go a much salient portion of nan nationalist tourism map.

Québec City: High Occupancy successful nan Old Capital

Though not mentioned successful nan title, Québec City surely merits consideration. Hotel occupancy reached complete 80% successful June and July, peaking astatine 87% during nan Festival d’été. On definite days, some revenues and occupancy levels surpassed 90%.

Québec City is capitalizing connected its humanities sites, festivals, and business tourism. Even midsized cities are capable to execute singular tourism results erstwhile they capitalize connected their history and person an appropriately scheduled almanac of events. This besides illustrates nan truth that maturation successful Canadian tourism is not restricted to nan largest centers only.

Kelowna: A Mixed Picture of Growth and Decline

Kelowna successful British Columbia serves arsenic a cautionary tale. Hotels and short-term rentals performed good successful Q2 2025 pinch some occupancies and rates surpassing past year’s figures. Nonetheless, visitant spending decreased by 6%, particularly successful recreation and entertainment. This illustrates nan increasing inclination for Canadian travellers: while booking accommodation, they scrimp connected spending for dining, tours, shopping, and different services.

The metropolis is now pivoting towards business events and conventions arsenic a intends to offset this shortfall. With bids scheduled arsenic acold retired arsenic 2030, Kelowna intends to offset spending pinch high-value business travellers. This attack is already implemented by larger cities for illustration Toronto and Calgary.

Kelowna’s acquisition shows america that nan header edifice capacity metrics often conceal deeper insights. In nan absence of robust discretionary spending, a ample number of mini businesses successful tourism-dependent towns struggle to get by.

National Picture: Canada’s Tourism Resilience

Projected for Q2 2025, 1 study is apparent. There is beardown tourism maturation successful Canadian cities stemming from, world demand, events, and a dependable betterment successful business travel. Hotels nationwide person reported improved occupancy, stronger rates, and a healthier RevPAR compared to 2024.

Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton, and Halifax are astatine nan forefront of nan growth. Each metropolis has leveraged its peculiar strength, for instance, business events successful Toronto, premium complaint output successful Vancouver, and cruise and manner entreaty successful Halifax. Toronto hosted business events. Montreal is hosting taste festivals and Halifaz pinch location and cruising festivals, Edmonton besides has location entreaty while Calgary is hosting exhibitions.

The only area of interest is nan secondary leisure markets for illustration Kelowna, wherever occupancy whitethorn beryllium increasing, but visitant spending is decreasing. This is simply a reflection of nan expanding pressures connected family budgets successful nan United States and Canada.

Toronto joins Vancouver, Montréal, Calgary, Edmonton, and Halifax successful a Canada tourism surge because each six cities person surgery visitant records successful nan first half of 2025, driven by beardown edifice stays, rising world arrivals, and booming events.

A Well-Rounded Canadian Tourism Surge

The first information of 2025 indicates that Canada is entering a caller shape of tourism growth. Not only has nan pandemic betterment resulted successful nan afloat betterment of metropolis tourism, but successful galore cases, tourism is reaching caller heights. Nearly each markets are reporting vigorous edifice occupancy, precocious spending, and elevated rates.

The halfway of Canadian tourism is composed of nan cities of Toronto, Vancouver, Montréal, Calgary, Edmonton, and Halifax. These cities, arsenic good arsenic nan remainder of Canada, are demonstrating allomembrial resilience, ingenuity, and responsiveness to world recreation successful nan look of difficulties. These cities are exemplifying premium business and taste events that showcase Canadian ingenuity.

The first information of 2025 indicates that Canada is entering a caller shape of tourism growth. Not only has nan pandemic betterment resulted successful nan afloat betterment of metropolis tourism, but successful galore cases, tourism is reaching caller heights. Canada is good poised to outperform nan tourism maturation targets group for 2025.