National tourism indicators, second quarter 2026
Released: 2026-09-25
$28.5 billion
Second quarter 2026
0.3% 
(quarterly change)
$21.2 billion
Second quarter 2026
0.0%
(quarterly change)
$7.3 billion
Second quarter 2026
1.0%
(quarterly change)
1.77%
Second quarter 2026
699,000
Second quarter 2026
0.4%
(quarterly change)
Real tourism gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.4% in the second quarter of 2026, following a 0.5% increase in the first quarter. By comparison, economy-wide real GDP by industry increased 0.9% in the second quarter. Tourism GDP accounted for 1.77% of nominal GDP in the second quarter, virtually unchanged from the first quarter.
Tourism spending in Canada rose 0.3% in the second quarter as spending by international visitors grew 1.0%.
Chart 1
Tourism and major industrial sectors, gross domestic product, second quarter of 2026
Growth in tourism gross domestic product continues
Driven by the accommodation (+0.8%) and food and beverage services (+1.0%) industries, tourism GDP continued an upward trend in the second quarter of 2026 that began in the second quarter of 2022. The increases in the accommodation and the food and beverage services industries in the second quarter of 2026 coincided with the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as Canada hosted 10 games in Vancouver and Toronto in the second quarter. Canada's monthly GDP by industry highlighted some of the specific tourism-related industry impacts in June.
International visitors drive growth in tourism spending
Spending by international visitors grew 1.0% in the second quarter, the same pace as the previous quarter. Spending on non-tourism products such as groceries (+1.8%), passenger air transport (+0.9%), and accommodation services (+0.8%) contributed the most to the increase in the second quarter.
Overnight travel from countries other than the United States grew 2.5% in the second quarter, while overnight travel from the United States edged up 0.2%. Total arrivals from the 15 countries that played World Cup games in Canada in June increased 28.6% year over year.
International visitors accounted for 25.6% of tourism spending in Canada in the second quarter, up from 25.4% in the previous quarter.
Chart 2
Share of tourism spending in Canada by international visitors
Tourism spending in Canada by Canadians unchanged in the second quarter
Domestic tourism spending by Canadian residents was unchanged in the second quarter, after edging down 0.1% in the first quarter. Decreased spending on passenger air transport (-1.3%) and vehicle fuel (-2.8%) constricted overall growth in the second quarter.
Tourism jobs increased in the second quarter
The number of jobs attributable to tourism increased 0.4% in the second quarter, the same pace as in the first quarter. By comparison, the economy-wide number of jobs was up 0.2% in the second quarter.
The food and beverage services (+0.9%) and recreation and entertainment (+1.4%) industries contributed the most to the job gains in the second quarter. Growth was partially offset by lower tourism jobs in the accommodation (-0.5%) and travel services (-1.2%) industries.
Chart 3
Tourism spending, tourism gross domestic product and jobs attributable to tourism
Looking ahead
According to leading indicators of frontier counts data, the number of non-resident travellers arriving in Canada by land and by air increased in both July and August, compared to the same months of 2025.
The number of Canadian travellers returning to Canada by land increased in July and August 2026, while the number of Canadian travellers returning to Canada by air decreased in both July and August.
Government revenue attributable to tourism increases in 2025
Tourism is an important source of revenue for all levels of government. In 2025, it contributed $34.6 billion to government revenue, up 3.5% from 2024. Federal, provincial and territorial governments collected 94.2% of the total government revenue generated by tourism in 2025. The remainder was collected by municipal and Indigenous general governments. Domestic tourism spending accounted for three-quarters (75.0%) of government revenue attributable to tourism in 2025, with the remainder coming from tourism exports, which represent international visitors in Canada.
Taxes on tourism products sold to final consumers ($18.4 billion), such as the goods and services tax (GST) and the harmonized sales tax (HST), were the largest source of government revenue attributable to tourism in 2025. However, vehicle fuel and GST/HST holiday tax breaks limited growth of tourism products sold to final consumers to 2.0%.
Every $100 spent by Canadian tourists in Canada generated, on average, $24.54 in government revenue in 2025, while $24.77 was generated for each $100 spent by non-resident tourists. Overall, every $100 in tourism spending generated $24.60 in government revenue, up $0.16 from 2024.
Sustainable development goals
On January 1, 2016, the world officially began implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development—the United Nations' transformative plan of action that addresses urgent global challenges over the next 15 years. The plan is based on 17 specific sustainable development goals.
The national tourism indicators are an example of how Statistics Canada supports the reporting on the global goals for sustainable development. This release will be used in helping to measure the following goal:
Note to readers
With the second quarter 2026 release of the national tourism indicators, data for the first quarter of 2026 have been revised. Government revenue attributable to tourism for reference years 2020 to 2024 have also been revised.
Gross domestic product (GDP) expressed in real and nominal terms is at basic prices, unless otherwise specified.
Tourism GDP refers to the price-adjusted or real measure of GDP, unless otherwise stated.
Growth rates for tourism spending and GDP are expressed in real terms (that is, adjusted for price changes), using reference year 2017, as well as adjusted for seasonal variations, unless otherwise indicated.
Tourism jobs data are also seasonally adjusted. Tourism's share of economy-wide jobs is calculated using seasonally adjusted values.
Tourism's share of economy-wide GDP is calculated from seasonally adjusted nominal values.
Economy-wide GDP is obtained from table 36-10-0449-01. Economy-wide total number of jobs is obtained from table 36-10-0207-01. Overnight travel to Canada by international visitors is obtained from table 24-10-0054-01.
For information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonal adjustment: Concepts and interpretation, 2026.
Associated percentage changes are presented at quarterly rates unless otherwise noted.
Non-tourism industries, also referred to as other industries, are industries that would continue to exist in the absence of tourism. For example, retail trade industries, which benefit from tourism activity, would not cease to exist in the absence of tourism. Tourism GDP takes into account the goods and services produced by these other industries and purchased by tourists.
Non-tourism products, also referred to as other products, are products for which a significant part of their total demand in Canada does not come from visitors, such as groceries, clothing and alcoholic beverages bought in stores.
The national tourism indicators are funded by Destination Canada.
Next release
Data on the national tourism indicators for the third quarter of 2026 will be released on January 8, 2027.
Products
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The Methodological Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (13-607-X) is available.
Contact information
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