Toronto tourism still below pre-pandemic levels as spending hits record $7 billion

Tourism in Toronto is still below pre-pandemic levels while traveller-related spending reached a record $7 billion with the help of inflation in 2023.

Destination Toronto released a new report on the visitor economy in 2023 Monday showing the city is still at 93 per cent of pre-COVID levels when it comes to tourism.

In 2023, 8.95 million visitors came to Toronto, down from the 9.6 million in 2019, but a healthy increase from 6.5 million in 2022.

The $7 billion spent last year is a big leap from the 5.2 billion spent in 2022 and $6.7 billion in 2019.

Domestic travellers have driven much of this growth, accounting for 71 per cent of all visitors. Meanwhile, international visitors, including people from the U.S., remain 25 per cent below 2019 levels.

When it comes to business travel, Andrew Weir, Executive Vice President of Destination Toronto, said the sector is still lagging behind leisure travel.

“For our visitor economy to be the economic engine it has proven to be for jobs and growth, all of these vital markets and segments need to return to full steam,” Weir said.

Visitor Arrivals in Toronto in 2023, according to Destination Toronto.

Major meetings that take place over several days and bring in more than 1,000 attendees only accounted for 290,000 visitors in Toronto last year, a steep decrease from 444,000 in 2019.

The accommodations sector’s recovery has also been a slow one, sinking 19 per cent below pre-pandemic levels in 2023.

“Toronto’s visitor economy is a vitally important sector of the city’s economy,” Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said in a Monday release.

“We salute all sectors of this industry and the contribution they make to Toronto’s vibrancy and prosperity.”