If you thought you saw more tourists than normal in Canada this summer, you’re probably right.
Destination Canada, which markets Canada to the world, says Canada’s tourism sector achieved a record-breaking summer in 2025, with May to August revenue reaching nearly $60 billion. That represents a 6% year-over-year increase.
The record revenue was driven by a strong base of Canadian travellers who chose to explore our country like never before, with the highest domestic growth coming from Canadians travelling outside of their home province. That means economic benefits were spread across the country.
Rising international interest also powered the record summer, particularly from overseas markets, where visitor spend surged 10%.
U.S. visitor spending was down 1.7% from the summer of 2024, but overseas visitor spending jumped 10.4%, officials said.
The Canadian tourism sector’s total revenue between May and August 2025 was $59B, with $44.4B coming from Canadian travellers and $14.6B coming from international travellers.
The Canadian flag in the Rocky Mountains. Rene Baker/Unsplash Photo.
The Numbers Behind Canada’s Record Summer
• Tourism Grew Across the Country: Tourism growth proved to be a “truly national economic contribution.” The impact was broad-based, with 89% of Canadian regions posting year-over-year growth.
• Standout Regional Growth: Notably, 59% of regions outperformed the average growth of Canada’s major metro areas, demonstrating a successful dispersion of tourism, including overseas travellers. Atlantic Canada, in particular, emerged as a standout performer, posting some of the highest growth rates in the country.
• Domestic Tourism Spending Surge: Domestic tourism spending grew 7% year over year in summer 2025, reflecting Canadians’ enthusiasm for exploring their own backyard. Notably, inter-provincial spending recorded a higher year-over-year increase than intra-provincial spending, highlighting a growing appetite to travel farther afield.
Who doesn’t want a shot of the giant lobster in Shediac, New Brunswick? JIM BYERS PHOTO
• Record Accommodation Strength: The accommodation sector showed broad gains across Canada, both in rural and urban locations. • National hotel occupancy reached 80.7% in August 2025, the highest since 2014. Both hotel and short-term rental occupancies grew nationally over the summer.
• In keeping with the pan-Canadian tourism summer boom, regions outside major cities also enjoyed increased demand. The highest increase in occupancy this summer was observed for Manitoba, Vancouver Island, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.
That’s great to see, as Canadians often flock to Alberta, Ontario and Quebec in summer. I don’t know Manitoba very well, but I love the Maritime provinces, and also have thoroughly enjoyed my visits to Saskatchewan.
