Landscape of serene Moraine Lake in the Canadian Rocky Mountains
In 2024, tourism activities generated $104.4 billion in revenues (inflation-adjusted), distributed over a wide range of services provided in communities of all sizes across Canada. This was up 3.5% from 2023, in which recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continued.
Notably, in 2024, tourism demand surpassed the pre-pandemic level of 2019 (+3.3%) for the first time and was the highest on record since the beginning of the current data series in 1986.
Tourism activities include, among others, spending on transportation, accommodation, food and beverage services, and recreation and entertainment.
Alongside higher spending in 2024 was an increase in visits. Overnight domestic trips reached 105.6 million in 2024 (+8.8% from 2023), and overnight non-resident arrivals totalled 19.9 million (+8.6%).
Jobs attributable to tourism demand nearly eclipse pre-pandemic level
Both domestic and international visitor spending supported 702,700 tourism jobs across various industries in 2024, slightly below the high of 704,100 jobs from 2019.
There were over 265,800 businesses in tourism industries in 2024, and these businesses supported 1 in 10 workers in the Canadian workforce.
Key economic contributor
Tourism contributed $41.0 billion to Canada’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024, accounting for 1.8% of overall GDP. While its contribution was relatively small, the sector saw its growth rate in 2024 (+3.6%) outpace national growth (+1.7%) and was among the fastest-growing sectors.
Growth in tourism GDP in 2024 also helped offset slower growth in other sectors, as well as contractions in the manufacturing (-2.8%) and construction (-0.3%) sectors.