Tariffs, inflation and widespread economic challenges didn’t stop visitors from flocking to Toronto in 2025. A new report from Destination Toronto shows that a record number of tourists visited the city, both domestically and internationally.
Last year, 28.2 million people chose Toronto as a tourist destination, which generated $9.1 billion in spending. Of that, 36 per cent came from the U.S. and international markets, according to the report.
This helped generate almost $13.5 billion for the economy, which exceeded numbers from 2024 by four per cent.
The largest growing segment of tourists to Toronto in 2025 was international arrivals, which spiked eight per cent to 1.4 million visitors. Those numbers were led by the U.K. and Germany, up 12 and 10 per cent respectively, two countries where Destination Toronto saw “increased visibility”, according to the report.
However, those travelling to Toronto from other parts of Canada made up 25 million visitors, which led to a three per cent increase from last year, and a sharp contrast to the declining numbers of Canadian visitors to the U.S. While U.S. visitors were down six per cent from 2024, they made the second largest segment of tourists, at 1.9 million.
Destination Toronto president and CEO Andrew Weir admits that a lot of sectors are struggling right now, but tourism continues to prove to be resilient.
“We’ve known for a long time what an engine tourism is for our city and it’s easy to overlook when there’s snowbanks everywhere,” he told CP24 on Wednesday, referencing the impact of Sunday’s record snowstorm. “Even today, there’s thousands of visitors in the city,”
In regard to the political tensions between the U.S. and Canada, Weir says visitors continue to choose Toronto because it’s an inviting and secure place for tourists.
“Visitors come looking for a place they know they’ll feel welcomed, that they know they’ll not only have a great experience, but they’ll feel safe travelling, and that’s where Canada has a real opportunity to win right now,” he said.
The year 2025 had some monumental moments which helped drive big tourism numbers, including Taylor Swift’s streak of concerts and the Blue Jays making it to the World Series. However, Weir says extraordinary events are just part of what Toronto has to offer, including the upcoming FIFA World Cup, and other big concert series.
“People travel for what they’re passionate about,” he said. “They want to see a baseball game, they want to see a concert…we’re well positioned as a city because we’ve got that infrastructure and we’re growing to attract more people.”
Weir says meetings and conventions are another huge driver for visitors to the city.
Toronto played host to 74 major meetings in 2025, which attracted an estimated 378,000 delegates - a 51 per cent year-over-year increase - and generated $982 million in economic impact.
He added that the broadcast potential of the FIFA World Cup will give one billion people around the world a look at what the city has to offer, which will help secure plans for future travellers.
“That’s commercial time you can’t buy,” he said. “This helps us build not only the economic impact of visitor spending when those visitors are here but it continues to build for the long term.”
