Toronto is 'a value destination,' prof says, as city approaches pre-pandemic tourism levels

CBC

2 days ago

Toronto is getting closer to pre-pandemic levels of tourists in the city, which Destination Toronto says is thanks in part to an increase in European travellers.
"The city is doing well," said Kathy Motton, senior manager of corporate communications at Destination Toronto.
"There's a lot of interest from Canadians wanting to travel in Canada and stay in their country," she said. "We are seeing that the U.S. is down, not surprisingly, but in turn the international market is up."
Toronto welcomed nine million visitors in 2024, according to Destination Toronto figures, just 600,000 shy of the number of visitors it welcomed in 2019 pre-pandemic.
Canadians led the way, with American visitors coming second at 1.6 million. However, Motton says visits dropped four per cent year over year in the first quarter of 2025, owing to "ongoing geopolitical and economic uncertainty."
While she says "it's too early for a full 2025 project," Motton also says the summer is helping Toronto make up for lower numbers earlier in the year.
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More visitors from U.K., Germany
Visitors from the United Kingdom and Germany were both up in June by six per cent each, year over year, Motton says, noting it may be a result of Europeans looking for new places to travel.
Toronto is an attractive destination for Europeans due to cost, says Wayne Smith, a tourism professor at Toronto Metropolitan University.
"The euro versus Canadian dollar is doing very well, so Toronto actually looks like a value destination," said Smith.
"They're paying close to $200 a night. And when you compare to European prices, it actually becomes a value type destination for them."
Smith says what's happening in the U.S. is also probably playing a role in bringing European travellers to Toronto.
"Canada has been in the news a lot so it becomes more top of mind," he said. "Because of the U.S. situation and with visas and fears about ICE – you add in some of the economic component to it, all of a sudden Canada looks like a much more attractive destination versus the U.S."
Toronto is also attractive to Europeans because it's a closer destination than places like Calgary or Vancouver, Smith says.
Destination Toronto opened new offices in the U.K. and Germany in June in an effort to attract more European tourists to the city. Motton says she expects numbers will grow from those countries, especially as we get close to the FIFA 2026 World Cup, which Toronto is co-hosting.
"Once we hear which countries are going to be playing here, I think we're going to see a lot of interest from the various different countries that are playing here in the city," she said.
Meanwhile, Henry Greisman, a manager at Toonie Tours, one of Toronto's walking tour operators, says he's seeing an increase in visitors from South America.
The company, which offers Spanish tours, has had to add additional tours to meet demand, he says.
"We would take on average say 15, maybe 18 passengers on a tour and they go on a three hour tour in downtown Toronto. This year we are seeing upwards of 25 and our maximum is 30 guests on a tour," Greisman said.
Americans remain key to tourism recovery: experts
Still, Greisman says he's noticed a decline in U.S. visitors so far this year — a decline both Smith and Motton say is important to turn around.
"We're going to continue to market to the Americans," Motton said, noting U.S. visitors to Toronto are down nine per cent since 2024.
Their return is crucial to a true tourism recovery, Smith says.
"When you're looking at a three-to-one ratio, three U.S. tourists to every international tourist, which is sort of our traditional realm, what you're finding is that would be an awfully large market to give up entirely," he said.