Real tourism gross domestic product (GDP) in Canada rose slightly by 0.4% in the second quarter, following a 0.5% increase in the first quarter, according to a report by Statistics Canada.
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%, said the federal agency.
“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,” it said.
Statistics Canada said 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, it noted.
“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,” said Statistics Canada.
“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.”
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