43.7 million tourists visited Toronto in 2017

A record number of 43.7 million tourists visited Toronto in 2017, led by Americans, Chinese and British tourists. According to the latest statistics released by Tourism Toronto, tourists pumped $8.8 billion into the local economy in 2017. Toronto also recorded a $700 million spike in booked hotels, attractions and restaurants compared to 2016. International visits surpassed the 5 million mark for the first time.

With nearly 3 million American overnight visitors spending $1.8 billion, visits from grew for the seventh year in a row. Second to US, the biggest international source markets were China with 319,000 visitors and the UK with 236,000 visitors. Following the new visa-free access implemented in 2016, visits from Mexico also saw a 72 per cent increase.

“More and more, world travellers are seeing Toronto as an exciting urban destination, and we’re seeing that with both a record number of visitors and visitor spending,” said Johanne Bélanger, President and CEO of Tourism Toronto.

Toronto received 104 million overnight domestic visitors from Canada last year. Toronto hosted several major international events, including the Invictus Games, hosted by Prince Harry, and the North American Indigenous Games in 2017.