Released: 2026-01-06
Tourism spending in Canada
$26.7 billion
Third quarter 2025
0.7%
(quarterly change)
Domestic tourism spending
$20.8 billion
Third quarter 2025
0.5% 
(quarterly change)
Tourism spending by non-residents
$6.0 billion
Third quarter 2025
1.2%
(quarterly change)
Tourism share of gross domestic product
1.70%
Third quarter 2025
Jobs generated by tourism
715,400
Third quarter 2025
0.6%
(quarterly change)
Tourism gross domestic product (GDP), in real terms, grew 0.9% in the third quarter of 2025, matching the pace set in the second quarter. By comparison, economy-wide real GDP by industry was up 0.5% in the third quarter, following a 0.2% decline in the second quarter. Tourism GDP accounted for 1.70% of nominal GDP in the third quarter, nearly unchanged from the second quarter (1.71%).
Chart 1
Tourism and major industrial sectors, gross domestic product, third quarter of 2025
Tourism gross domestic product increases in all industry groupings
In the third quarter, growth in tourism GDP was mainly driven by increased activity in the accommodation (+1.2%) and transportation (+1.2%) industries. Food and beverage services (+0.5%), other tourism industries (+0.4%), and non-tourism industries (+0.8%) were also up in the quarter.
Total tourism spending rises
Total tourism spending was up 0.7% in the third quarter, compared with a 0.9% increase in the second quarter. Higher domestic (+0.5%) and international (+1.2%) tourism spending both contributed to the overall growth in the third quarter.
Accommodation services (+1.4%) was the largest contributor to growth in the third quarter, which was tempered by lower passenger air transport (-1.0%).
Tourism spending by international visitors is up across all tourism products
Tourism spending by international visitors was up in the third quarter (+1.2%), following a 5.6% decline in the previous quarter. Most tourism products registered gains in the third quarter, led mainly by vehicle rental (+5.1%), vehicle repair (+2.6%), and travel services (+2.6%). Meanwhile, accommodation increased 1.0% in the third quarter, after falling 6.4% in the second quarter.
International visitors’ share of tourism spending in Canada (22.3%) was virtually unchanged in the third quarter, after falling to its lowest level in over two years in the second quarter. As Canada-US trade tensions continued in the second quarter, fewer Americans travelled to Canada, while Canadian tourists travelled less to the United States and spent more in Canada.
Chart 2
Share of tourism spending in Canada by international visitors
Tourism spending in Canada by Canadian residents slows in the third quarter
Domestic tourism spending by Canadian residents was up 0.5% in the third quarter compared with a 2.9% increase in the second quarter. Gains in the third quarter were posted in accommodation services (+1.6%), pre-trip expenditure (+4.4%), and vehicle rental (+11.3%). The Canada Strong pass, valid from June 20 to September 2, likely contributed to a 3.9% increase in passenger rail transport.
Spending on passenger air transport decreased 1.6% in the third quarter, coinciding with lingering Canada-US trade tensions and cancelled flights due to the flight attendants’ strike in August.
According to the Canadian Survey of Consumer Expectations for the third quarter, 33.6% of Canadians planned on spending more while vacationing in Canada, and 53.1% of Canadians planned on spending less while vacationing in the United States.
Tourism jobs increase in the third quarter
The number of jobs attributable to tourism increased 0.6% in the third quarter of 2025, the same pace as in the second quarter. By comparison, the economy-wide number of jobs was down 0.3% in the third quarter.
All industries posted gains in the third quarter except for recreation and entertainment (0.0%), with food and beverage (+0.5%), accommodation (+0.7%) and non-tourism (+0.7%) industries contributing the most to the growth.
Tourism’s share of economy-wide jobs was 3.36% in the third quarter, slightly up from the second quarter (3.33%).
Chart 3
Tourism spending, tourism gross domestic product (GDP) and jobs attributable to tourism
Looking ahead
The number of Canadian travellers returning to Canada by land and by air posted declines in both October and November 2025 compared to the same months of the previous year, according to leading indicators of Frontier Counts data.
Driven by growth in air travel, the number of non-resident travellers arriving in Canada increased in October. However, the number of non-resident travellers arriving in Canada by air and by land decreased in November.
Sustainable development goals
On January 1, 2016, the world officially began implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development—the United Nations’ transformative plan of action that addresses urgent global challenges over the next 15 years. The plan is based on 17 specific sustainable development goals.
The national tourism indicators are an example of how Statistics Canada supports the reporting on the global goals for sustainable development. This release will be used in helping to measure the following goal:
Note to readers
With the third quarter 2025 release of the national tourism indicators, data for the first and second quarters of 2025 have been revised.
Gross domestic product (GDP) expressed in real and nominal terms is at basic prices, unless otherwise specified.
In this article, tourism GDP refers to the price-adjusted or real measure of GDP, unless otherwise stated.
Growth rates for tourism spending and GDP are expressed in real terms (that is, adjusted for price changes), using reference year 2017, as well as adjusted for seasonal variations, unless otherwise indicated.
Tourism jobs data are also seasonally adjusted. Tourism’s share of economy-wide jobs is calculated using seasonally adjusted values.
Tourism’s share of economy-wide GDP is calculated from seasonally adjusted nominal values.
Economy-wide GDP is obtained from table 36-10-0449-01. Economy-wide total number of jobs is obtained from table 36-10-0207-01.
For information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.
Associated percentage changes are presented at quarterly rates unless otherwise noted.
Non-tourism industries, also referred to as other industries, are industries that would continue to exist in the absence of tourism. For example, retail trade industries, which benefit from tourism activity, would not cease to exist in the absence of tourism. Tourism GDP takes into account the goods and services produced by these other industries and purchased by tourists.
Non-tourism products, also referred to as other products, are products for which a significant part of its total demand in Canada does not come from visitors, such as groceries, clothing and alcoholic beverages bought in stores.
The national tourism indicators are funded by Destination Canada.
The Contribution of Tourism in 2024: Jobs and Economic Growth Across Canada, an infographic by Destination Canada and Statistics Canada, summarizes the wide range of economic and societal contributions of the tourism sector.
Next release
Data on the national tourism indicators for the fourth quarter of 2025 will be released on March 27, 2026.
Products
The Economic accounts statistics portal, accessible from the Subjects module of the Statistics Canada website, features an up-to-date portrait of national and provincial economies and their structure.
The Latest Developments in the Canadian Economic Accounts (13-605-X) is available.
The User Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (13-606-G) is available.
The Methodological Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (13-607-X) is available.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).