In the six years leading up to Toronto’s record-breaking 2015, the Canadian powerhouse had seen its popularity reach new heights. In addition to the 14.04 million overnight visitors, the city saw 26 million day visitors. The increase in tourism has given the economy a boost, with 7.2 billion USD spent by tourists in 2015 alone.

INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION

Of those 14 million visits, 4 million were international, with 2.48 million from the United States, and 1.75 million from China and the United Kingdom. These visits generated 7.2 billion USD in direct spending within Toronto, which according to Tourism Toronto’s report is the highest economic stimulus ever created by the tourism sector.

Despite the fact that US visits have been increasing since 2010, 2015 saw an even stronger 10% rise. Air and land crossings from the US have ballooned, breaking records for the number of American visits to the city. 65% of American visitors get to Toronto via air, a rising number.

Visits originating from China and India increased 13% from 2014 to 2015. Mexican and Brazilian visits were up 24% each; the United Kingdom, 10%; Japan, 3%; and Germany down by 1%.

FOCUSED EFFORTS

Tourism Toronto CEO and President, Johanne Bélanger, credits the increase in tourism across the board to more aggressive marketing efforts. These efforts have been mainly focused in the US, and include the Toronto Stopover program offered through Air Canada for Americans travelling overseas. In addition to the Stopover Program, partnerships with national and provincial marketing agencies have helped to create the surge in visits.

AN ECONOMIC AFFAIR

Bélanger cites the hard work of the hotel industry as a positive economic impact of the growth. “Every day there are 110,000 visitors in our destination – 38,000 of them staying in a hotel. On average there are 6,800 American travellers and a further 4,800 visitors from other countries in Toronto every single day, and that speaks to the growing appeal of Toronto on a global scale. It also speaks to the hard work our team and our partners do selling and marketing Toronto in key world markets and the results those efforts are producing,” she says.

Overall, hotels in Toronto in 2015 sold over 9 million room nights, a 2.6% increase from 2014. The growth in Toronto tourism has contributed over 600,000 room nights every year to the hotel industry.

The tourism industry of Toronto employs more than 300,000 people in various sectors of economy, from hospitality to goods and services. In addition to accommodations, tourists spend money on food, music and theatre events, nightlife, transportation, and shopping. The tourism sector is of great significance to the overall economic condition of Toronto, as well as the community affairs.

Toronto was also the host of many meetings and corporate events in 2015. They brought over 350,000 representatives who spent 417 million USD during their stays. Tourism Toronto and their partnerships also have more than 750 future events booked for the city. These future events are planned to bring in 350,000 people and 375 million USD.