Real tourism gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.5% in the first quarter of 2026, following a 1.4% increase in the fourth quarter of 2025. By comparison, economy-wide real GDP by industry increased 0.1% in the first quarter of 2026, while real GDP by expenditure was flat. Tourism GDP accounted for 1.80% of nominal GDP in the first quarter, up from 1.77% in the fourth quarter of 2025, reported Statistics Canada on Thursday.
Tourism spending in Canada (+0.1%) edged up in the first quarter of 2026, as increased spending by international visitors (+0.9%) more than offset lower tourism spending by Canadians in Canada (-0.2%), added the agency.
In the first quarter, tourism GDP continued an upward trend that began in the second quarter of 2022. Growth in the first quarter of 2026 was driven by non-tourism industries (+0.8%) and transportation (+0.6%).
“Spending by international visitors grew 0.9% in the first quarter, following a gain of 3.3% in the previous quarter. Accommodation services (+1.3%) and spending on non-tourism products (+1.8%) contributed the most to the increase. Outlays on food and beverage services (+1.1%) also rose, while those on travel services (-4.0%) and passenger air transport (-0.2%) decreased,” said Statistics Canada.
“Overnight travel to Canada from abroad increased 1.4% in the first quarter, with increased travel from the United States (+3.3%) more than offsetting lower travel from other countries (-2.7%).
“Spending by international visitors accounted for over one-quarter (25.4%) of all tourism spending in Canada in the first quarter, which is up from the fourth quarter of 2025 (25.2%).”
Domestic tourism spending by Canadian residents (-0.2%) edged down in the first quarter, after increasing 0.9% in the fourth quarter of 2025. Decreased spending on travel services (-6.4%) and vehicle rentals (-10.6%) contributed the most to the overall contraction in the first quarter of 2026. Pre-trip expenditures (+3.4%), such as luggage and camping equipment, and passenger air transport (+0.9%) tempered the overall decline in the first quarter, noted Statistics Canada.
“The number of jobs attributable to tourism increased 0.4% in the first quarter, after increasing 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2025. By comparison, the number of economy-wide jobs was down 0.3% in the first quarter of 2026. Accommodation (+0.6%) and non-tourism industries (+0.6%) contributed the most to the job gains in the first quarter.d Tourism’s share of economy-wide jobs was 3.24% in the first quarter, up from 3.22% in the previous quarter,” said the federal agency.
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