Tourism research statistics

Overview

The ministry’s tourism research unit gathers and analyzes provincial, national, and international travel statistics for government and public use.

For any questions, or if you need this information in another format, please contact tourism.research@ontario.ca. Within five business days, we will:

• acknowledge your request
• let you know when we can provide you with the content

Current performance

This data shows how busy the tourism industry is in Ontario. The percentage change columns show the difference over the same time period from the previous year.

International border crossings^{footnote 1[1]}

Hotel statistics

Ontario short-term rental statistics^{footnote 3[3]}

Exchange rates^{footnote 4[4]}

Other Statistics

Tourism quick facts

2019

Learn how the Ontario tourism industry compares to the world.

World tourism overview^{footnote 7[7]}

• Tourism receipts (US $B): 5,912
  • As a percent of world GDP: 6.7%
• Tourism GDP (US $B): 9,127
  • As a percent of world GDP: 10.4%
• Tourism employment (000s of jobs): 328,208
  • As a percent of world employment: 10.1%
• Tourism foreign earnings (US $B): 1,708
  • As a percent of world exports: 6.6%
• Consumer spending on tourism (US $B): 4,251
  • As a percent of total personal spending: 8.7%

Ontario’s tourism overview^{footnote 7[7]}

• Tourism receipts (CDN $B): 38
  • As a percent of provincial GDP: 4.3%
• Tourism GDP (CDN $B): 36.8
  • As a percent of provincial GDP: 4.1%
• Tourism employment (000s of jobs): 396
  • As a percent of provincial employment: 5.2%
• Tourism labour income (CDN $B): 22.3
  • As a percent of provincial labour income: 4.5%
• Provincial tourism tax revenues^{footnote d[d]} (CDN $B): 5.8
  • As a percent of provincial revenues: 3.9%
• Municipal tourism tax revenues^{footnote d[d]} (CDN $B): 1.5
• Federal tourism tax revenues^{footnote d[d]} (CDN $B): 6.1
• Tourism foreign earnings (CDN $B): 11.2
  • As a percent of Ontario's total international exports: 2.5%
• Ontario consumer spending on tourism (CDN $B): 39.8
  • As a percent of total personal spending: 7.4%

Key sources of Ontario’s tourism income^{footnote 7[7]}

Share of tourism spending in Ontario by key visitor groups^{footnote 7[7]}

Canadian and Ontario travellers compared to other countries^{footnote 7[7]}

Economic impact of tourism

This provides an overview of the tourism industry’s contribution to the Ontario economy.

Tourism regional economic impact model (TREIM)

TREIM modules can help you learn more about the economic impact of tourism in Ontario, including:

• visitor spending
• operational expenses
• investment expenditures
• convention centre activity

Historical statistics

For further explanation of terms used in the tables, please see the concepts and definitions section.

All data is available as an Excel (XLSX) file.

Inbound visits and spending

• Total visits by origin
  • United States visits
  • Overseas visits
• Overnight visits by origin
  • United States visits
  • Overseas visits
• Total spending by origin
  • United States spending
  • Overseas spending
• Overnight spending by origin
  • United States spending
  • Overseas spending

Outbound visits and spending

• Total visits by destination
• Overnight visits by destination
• Total expenditures by destination
• Overnight expenditures by destination

Tourism receipts and economic impact

• Ontario's tourism receipts by origin
• Ontario's tourism receipts by item
• The economic impact of Ontario's tourism receipts
• The economic impact of visitor spending in Ontario

Travel accounts and price indexes

• International tourism account
• Interprovincial travel account
• Travel price index and Consumer price index

Accommodation

• Hotel occupancy rates, average daily rate and revenue per available room

Tourism-related establishments and employment

• Number of tourism-related businesses
• Number of businesses in Ontario by size
  • Tourism-related businesses
  • Accommodation
  • Arts, entertainment and recreation
  • Food and beverage
  • Transportation
  • Travel services
• Ontario's employment by industry

Tourism receipts

Tourism receipts are used to calculate the overall impact of tourism spending on Ontario’s GDP, jobs and taxes.

They include spending from:

• visitors coming to Ontario as a destination
• travellers passing through or leaving the province on their way to other destinations

How we got the numbers

The data for calculating tourism receipts comes from several Statistics Canada surveys (National Travel Survey, Visitor Travel Survey and Travel Arrangement Survey).

Ontario's tourism receipts

This table lists tourism receipts for the last 10 years and the annual percentage changes compared to the previous year.

The 10-year average is 10.1%.

For more information, see Ontario’s Tourism Receipts by Origin.

Concepts and definitions

Border crossings (frontier counts)

Statistics Canada’s frontier counts provide statistics on the total number of non-residents entering Canada or residents returning to Canada through Ontario’s international ports of entry.

The international border crossings to Ontario are not equal to Statistics Canada’s Visitor Travel Survey estimates of the international tourist visits to Ontario. Border crossings measure all international travellers entering Ontario for any purpose and any duration, as opposed to tourist entries only. Similarly, border crossings do not provide information such as visitors to Ontario who enter Canada through other provincial ports.

Border crossings are used only as an indicator of current performance. Tourist visits in Ontario come from two surveys conducted by Statistics Canada: the National Travel Survey and the Visitor Travel Survey.

Economic impact of tourism

The impact on jobs, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and taxes associated with the spending of travellers in an area. Not all of the impacts are retained within the area of spending since part of these benefits will leak out into other regions in the form of imports.

The economic impact of tourism in Ontario is estimated by the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport’s Tourism Regional Economic Impact Model (TREIM). TREIM estimates the economic impact (e.g., jobs, GDP, taxes) of visitor and business spending on the provincial and local economies.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

Value of goods and services produced by labour and capital located within a country (or region), regardless of nationality of labour or ownership.

Direct impact

The impact that the tourism expenditures generate on tourism front-line businesses (or tourism-related sectors).

Indirect impact

The impact resulting from the expansion of demand from tourism front-line businesses or tourism-related sectors, to other businesses or sectors.

Induced impact

The impact associated with the re-spending of labour income and/or profits earned in the industries that serve travellers directly and indirectly.

Jobs generated by tourism

Include full-time, part-time, seasonal employment, as well as both employed and self-employed.

Federal tax revenues

Include personal income taxes, corporate income taxes, commodity taxes (HST) and payroll deductions that are collected by the federal government.

Provincial tax revenues

Include personal income taxes, corporate income taxes, commodity taxes (HST, gasoline tax, fuel tax and tobacco tax), and employer health tax that are collected by the Ontario provincial government.

Municipal tax revenues

Include business and personal property taxes that are collected by the municipalities.

Tourism

The definition of tourism follows that adopted by the World Tourism Organization and the United Nations Statistical Commission: the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes.

Domestic trip

A domestic trip is defined as travel to a Canadian destination and originating in Canada.

Domestic trips qualifying as “touristic”

In Canada, for a domestic trip to be part of tourism it has to be an out-of-town trip (an overnight trip or a same day trip of a distance that is 40km and over). The trip may have been taken for any reason except for:

• routine travel that is a regular part of a job
• commuting to school
• moving (or helping someone move) to a new residence (or school)
• regular household or grocery shopping
• regular medical or dental appointments or check-ups
• regular attendance at religious observances/ services
• attendance at funerals
• trips for various regular chores

International trip

An international trip is taken by an international traveller arriving in Canada whose country of residence is a country other than Canada who is cleared through a Canadian Border Services Agency point of entry on a visit for any reason except: immigrants, former residents, military personnel, diplomats and dependants, and crews (i.e., persons engaged in the operation of a transport).

Person visit

Tourist visit taken by a traveller either travelling alone or travelling as part of a group. All persons on a trip may visit more than one area. A visit in an area constitutes a person visit in that area. The total of person visits to Ontario’s tourism regions are greater than the person visits to the province since more than one tourism region may be visited during a provincial visit.

Tourism receipts

Tourism receipts include the spending of visitors in Ontario as well as the spending of Canadian residents in Ontario for trips that take them outside the province with no corresponding visit in Ontario. Tourism receipts also include the commissions and fees earned by the travel arrangements businesses that are in Ontario.

Tourism front-line businesses or tourism-related industries

The businesses or industries that sell products and services directly to travellers, for example: accommodation, food and beverage, arts, entertainment and recreation, travel services and transportation enterprises. Although these industries or businesses supply the goods and services consumed by travellers, they also supply goods and services consumed by non-travellers. As such, not all of these businesses’ or industries’ revenues and jobs are attributable to tourism.

The Ministry of Tourism Culture and Sport, consistent with Statistics Canada’s Provincial and Territorial Tourism Satellite Account, classifies the following industries at NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) 6-digit level as the tourism-related industries. The North American Industry Classification System was developed in 1997 by the three North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) trading partners to classify businesses throughout the three countries according to their activities and appears in Statistics Canada's products. NAICS Canada 2017 consists of 20 sectors, 102 subsectors, 324 industry groups, 718 industries and 928 national industries. The relevant ones for tourism are:

NAICS: Accommodation

• NAICS 721111 - Hotels
• NAICS 721112 - Motor Hotels
• NAICS 721113 - Resorts
• NAICS 721114 - Motels
• NAICS 721120 - Casino Hotels
• NAICS 721191 - Bed and Breakfast
• NAICS 721192 - Housekeeping Cottages and Cabins
• NAICS 721198 - All Other Traveller Accommodation
• NAICS 721211 - RV (Recreational Vehicle) Parks and Campgrounds
• NAICS 721212 - Hunting and Fishing Camps
• NAICS 721213 - Recreational (except hunting and fishing) and Vacation Camps

NAICS: Food & beverage services

• NAICS 722511 - Full-Service Restaurants
• NAICS 722512 - Limited-Service Eating Places
• NAICS 722410 - Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)

NAICS: Arts, Entertainment and Recreation

• NAICS 512130 - Motion Picture and Video Exhibition
• NAICS 711111 - Theatre (except musical) Companies
• NAICS 711112 - Musical Theatre and Opera Companies
• NAICS 711120 - Dance Companies
• NAICS 711130 - Musical Groups and Artists
• NAICS 711190 - Other Performing Arts Companies
• NAICS 711213 - Horse Race Tracks
• NAICS 711214 - Other racing facilities and related activities
• NAICS 711215 - Independent athletes performing before a paying audience
• NAICS 711217 - Sports teams and clubs performing before a paying audience
• NAICS 711311 - Live Theatres and Other Performing Arts Presenters with Facilities
• NAICS 711319 - Sports Stadiums and Other Presenters with Facilities
• NAICS 711321 - Performing Arts Promoters (Presenters) without Facilities
• NAICS 711322 - Festivals without Facilities
• NAICS 711329 - Sports Presenters and Other Presenters without Facilities
• NAICS 711511 - Independent Visual Artists and Artisans
• NAICS 711512 - Independent Actors, Comedians and Performers
• NAICS 711513 - Independent Writers and Authors
• NAICS 712111 - Non-Commercial Art Museums and Galleries
• NAICS 712115 - History and Science Museums
• NAICS 712119 - Museums (except Art Museums and Galleries)
• NAICS 712120 - Historic and Heritage Sites
• NAICS 712130 - Zoos and Botanical Gardens
• NAICS 712190 - Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions
• NAICS 713110 - Amusement and Theme Parks
• NAICS 713120 - Amusement Arcades
• NAICS 713210 - Casinos (except Casino Hotels)
• NAICS 713291 - Lotteries
• NAICS 713299 - All Other Gambling Industries
• NAICS 713910 - Golf Courses and Country Clubs
• NAICS 713920 - Skiing Facilities
• NAICS 713930 - Marinas
• NAICS 713950 - Bowling Centres
• NAICS 713999 - All Other Amusement and Recreation Industries

NAICS: Transportation

• NAICS 481110 - Scheduled Air Transportation
• NAICS 481214 - Non-Scheduled Chartered Air Transportation
• NAICS 481215 - Non-Scheduled Specialty flying Services
• NAICS 482112 - Short-haul Freight Rail Transportation
• NAICS 482113 - Mainline Freight Rail Transportation
• NAICS 482114 - Passenger Rail Transportation
• NAICS 483115 - Deep Sea, Coastal and Great Lakes Water Transportation (except by ferries)
• NAICS 483116 - Deep Sea, Coastal and Great Lakes Water Transportation by Ferries
• NAICS 483213 - Inland Water Transportation (except by ferries)
• NAICS 483214 - Inland Water Transportation by Ferries
• NAICS 485110 - Urban Transit Systems
• NAICS 485210 - Interurban and Rural Bus Transportation
• NAICS 485310 - Taxi Service
• NAICS 485320 - Limousine Service
• NAICS 485410 - School and Employee Bus Transportation
• NAICS 485510 - Charter Bus Industry
• NAICS 485990 - Other Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation
• NAICS 487110 - Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Land
• NAICS 487210 - Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water
• NAICS 487990 - Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Other
• NAICS 532111 - Passenger Car Rental
• NAICS 532120 - Truck, Utility Trailer and RV (Recreational Vehicle) Rental and Leasing

NAICS: Travel Services

• NAICS 561510 - Travel Agencies
• NAICS 561520 - Tour Operators
• NAICS 561590 - Other Travel Arrangement and Reservation Services

Travel price index

An indicator that measures the inflation rate of the cost of purchasing travel-related goods and services in Ontario (for example, accommodation, transportation, food/beverage, recreation, etc.).

The Ontario Travel Price Index is based on the travel-related components of Ontario’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) released monthly by Statistics Canada. To derive the Travel Price Index, the prices of these components are weighted and aggregated according to their proportions in the total tourism expenditures in Ontario.

Visitor spending (expenditures)

Visitor spending includes what visitors to Ontario spend while travelling in the province, including spending by Ontario residents on trip expenses at the point of origin (for example, taxi to the airport). As well, the fares purchased from Canadian carriers are included in the international visitor spending in Ontario when the province of entry and/or exit is Ontario.