Tourism investment, 2024
Released: 2026-02-12
In 2024, tourism industries invested $34.4 billion in non-residential capital assets, accounting for 7.3% of all non-residential capital investment in Canada.
Total non-residential investment by tourism industries was up 23.2% in 2024. This was the fourth consecutive increase and the largest since 1997. The share of total non-residential investment by tourism industries rose from 6.2% in 2023 to 7.3% in 2024.
Urban transit systems (+$3.2 billion) contributed half of the increase, followed by scheduled air transportation (+$1.2 billion), and truck, utility trailer and recreational vehicle rental and leasing (+$0.8 billion). These three industries accounted for 56.5% of non-residential investment by tourism industries.
Chart 1
Tourism industries' share of non-residential investment, 2014 to 2024
In real terms, capital investment by tourism industries grew 18.8% in 2024, after rising 2.6% in 2023. This double-digit growth represented the fourth consecutive annual increase, pushing capital investment by tourism industries to $25.7 billion in 2024, just short of the record high set in 2018 ($26.2 billion).
Chart 2
Investment by tourism industries, 2014 to 2024
Public sector investment by tourism industries outpaces tourism investment by the private sector
Private sector investment increased 19.0% in 2024, accounting for 43.6% of investment by tourism industries. Just under one-quarter (23.4%) of private sector investment was made by the scheduled air transportation industry. Among the provinces, the share of investment attributable to the private sector ranged from 36.5% in Quebec to 75.8% in New Brunswick.
More than half (55.7%) of public sector investment was by provincial, territorial, and Indigenous general governments ($10.8 billion), followed by local governments ($7.6 billion) and the federal government ($1.0 billion).
Public sector investment by tourism industries outpaced private sector investment for the sixth consecutive year.
The share of capital investment by tourism industries attributable to provincial, territorial, and Indigenous general governments was highest in Ontario (41.1%), followed by Quebec (30.5%). Public sector industries also include government business enterprises.
Chart 3
Investment by tourism industries, share by sector, 2024
Note to readers
All estimates in this release are expressed in current dollars unless otherwise stated. Estimates from 2022 and 2023 have been revised because of updates to source data.
Non-residential assets include four broad categories: non-residential buildings, non-residential engineering structures, machinery and equipment, and intellectual property products.
This release isolates the investment in non-residential capital assets undertaken by tourism industries at a detailed industry level. The specific industries included are outlined below. Estimates represent investments by tourism industries, whether or not they cater directly to tourists. Investment by these industries in tourism-specific fixed assets or tourism-related infrastructure, as well as investment that is directly attributable to tourism demand, would likely be significantly lower. This is because the reliance of certain tourism industries on tourism economic activity is relatively small.
International guidance on measuring tourism capital investment suggests different approaches, including capturing investment in tourism-specific fixed assets, investment by tourism industries in non-tourism-specific fixed assets and investment in tourism-related infrastructure. Additionally, tourism capital investment can be examined from the perspective of tourism demand, as industries where tourism activity is significant likely allocate greater capital investment to support this demand. The approach taken in this release is to measure tourism capital investment from the perspective of tourism industries, regardless of whether the investment specifically caters to tourists or not. Considerable challenges exist in separating tourism-specific investment from overall capital investment.
Tourism industries are a subset of all industries in Canada and include those related to transportation, accommodation, food and beverage services, recreation and entertainment, and travel services that are likely to cater directly to tourists.
Tourism industries are composed of the following six-digit North American Industry Classification System 2022 codes:
481110, 481214, 481215, 482114, 483115, 483116, 483213, 483214, 485110, 485210, 485310, 485320, 485410,
485510, 485990, 487110, 487210, 487990, 512130, 532111, 532120, 561510, 561520, 561590, 711111, 711112,
711120, 711130, 711190, 711213, 711214, 711215, 711217, 711311, 711319, 711321, 711322, 711329, 711511,
711512, 711513, 712111, 712115, 712119, 712120, 712130, 712190, 713110, 713120, 713210, 713291, 713299,
713910, 713920, 713930, 713950, 713991, 713992, 713999, 721111, 721112, 721113, 721114, 721120, 721191,
721192, 721198, 721211, 721212, 721213, 722410, 722511 and 722512.
Data are available upon request.
Products
The Economic accounts statistics portal, accessible from the Subjects module of the Statistics Canada website, features an up-to-date portrait of national and provincial economies and their structure.
The Latest Developments in the Canadian Economic Accounts (13-605-X) is available.
The User Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (13-606-G) is available.
The Methodological Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (13-607-X) is available.
Contact information
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