Canada Sees Continued Business Travel Growth and Strong Economic Impact in Toronto

Canada business travel growth lifts Toronto economy by $1.2bn

James Okafor | GlobalBeat

Business trips to Canada jumped 18 percent in 2025, pumping $1.2 billion into Toronto alone as hotels hit 82 percent occupancy.

The surge eclipsed the previous 2019 record, with meeting planners booking 2.3 million room nights in the Greater Toronto Area last year.

Corporate travel managers said the rebound signals a structural shift, not a post-pandemic blip, after years of Zoom-only budgets. “Every major pharma, tech and finance firm is back on the road,” Destination Toronto executive vice-president Andrew Weir told reporters.

Banking conferences led demand, followed by medical research conventions that spilled into the city’s underground PATH retail network. Planners paid an average $260 per night for downtown rooms, 12 percent above 2022 rates, according to data released Thursday by Tourism Toronto and the Greater Toronto Hotel Association.

Meeting delegates spent $512 per day on food, transport and entertainment, nearly double leisure visitor outlays. The spending cascade supported an estimated 11,400 jobs in restaurants, audiovisual suppliers and ride-hail fleets, the boards calculated.

International arrivals also shifted toward South America and Asia after new Air Canada routes debuted from São Paulo and Seoul. Brazil’s delegation to Collision tech week booked 1,100 suites in a single block, hoteliers confirmed.

Labour shortfalls still cap growth. Housekeeping vacancies hover at 14 percent across the city’s 164 branded hotels, forcing some properties to block floors during peak weeks. Hotel Human Resources Canada said visa backlogs for Filipino and Jamaican recruits had delayed start dates by up to four months.

Room supply is expanding anyway. Oxford Properties broke ground last month on a 950-room convention hotel beside the Rogers Centre, betting the upward curve continues through 2028. The project, backed by a $450 million loan from a Canadian pension fund, targets an all-suites model aimed at week-long medical symposiums.

City planners welcomed the numbers after losing four major conventions to U.S. rivals in 2021. Councillor Paula Fletcher said the rebound “shores up our argument” for a federally funded expansion of the downtown Metro Toronto Convention Centre, a proposal now before the finance committee.

Caution flags remain. Carbon-tracking platforms report that 37 percent of Canadian firms now embed emissions caps in travel policies, potentially trimming future flight volumes. Air Canada told investors it expects domestic business yields to flatten once budget belts tighten in 2027.

Background

Toronto’s visitor economy suffered North America’s steepest business-travel contraction in 2020, with hotel demand plunging 68 percent when borders closed. Downtown towers emptied as Bay Street bankers adopted permanent work-from-home routines, and the lucrative convention circuit decamped to virtual auditoriums.

Recovery lagged leisure travel elsewhere because corporate purse strings stayed tight even after health restrictions lifted. The U.S. reopened to vaccinated foreigners in November 2021, while Canada retained testing rules until October 2022, deterring short-notice board meetings that generate premium room rates.

What’s Next

Tourism Toronto will pitch for the 2027 Rotary International convention this summer, a gathering expected to draw 35,000 delegates and a $65 million spend. The bureau also eyes preliminary talks with Formula One to resurrect a Toronto street race, calculating that hospitality suites could add a further 50,000 high-yield room nights during race week.