A new report released this summer shows tourism spending in London is on the rise.
The report, prepared by The Conference Board of Canada’s Economic Research Division and released at Tourism London’s Annual General Meeting in June, assessed the economic impact of the tourism sector in London, Ontario, in 2023. Tourism spending in London increased nearly 11% ($106.5 million) to approximately $1.088 billion in 2023 as tourist activities resumed to normalcy following the strict health and safety measures from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Estimates of the economic impact are based on visitor volumes in the city of London and accommodation data collected by Tourism London for 2023, as well as other indicators regularly monitored by The Conference Board. The final economic impact estimates in this study were produced using The Conference Board’s Tourism Economic Assessment Model.
Key findings from the report also include:
- Purchases of food and beverages totaled $417.3 million (38% of total tourism spending), of which $311.1 million was spent in restaurants
- The city of London was host to roughly 2.1 million overnight visitors, an increase of almost 5% relative to 2022, including 136,000 visitors from the United States, 25,000 from other international countries and nearly 2.0 million domestic tourists.
- Tourism activity in London helped generate a total of roughly $1,051.5 million in GDP for the province and nearly $616.1 million for the local economy of London.
- In 2023, tourism activity in London supported 10,196 full-year jobs in Ontario, 7,864 of which were in London.
“We knew London was poised to recover sooner than other destinations across the country and now we have the data that proves it,” said Cheryl Finn, General Manager of Tourism London. “With Sunfest and Rock the Park celebrating milestone years this month, and as we get set to welcome the Ontario Summer Games to London, this announcement couldn’t come at a better time. Our hotels are seeing increased capacities, our attractions and restaurant partners are seeing more bookings and our festivals are seeing record crowds. The tourism industry is a major economic driver for London.”
“I’m thrilled by the remarkable growth in tourism spending in our city this past year,” said London’s Mayor, Josh Morgan. “This increase highlights the essential role tourism plays in enriching our community’s industries, supporting numerous full-time jobs and contributing to the well-being and success of London. This achievement is a testament to the dedication of our industry, our partners, our entire community and especially the team at Tourism London.
As we look forward to more events like the Ontario Summer Games in August, I am excited about the continued prosperity of our tourism industry.”
This report aligns well with the recently released Canadian Travel Insights Dashboard, built by Destination Canada in collaboration with the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) and powered by Skift. This new initiative provides regular and timely insights on Canadian travel consumer perceptions, attitudes, behaviours and motivators and is one of the products in the newly launched Canadian Tourism Data Collective. Another product within the Data Collective that has provided us with critical insights is TourismScapes, an interactive mapping tool that provides a deeper understanding of a community’s tourism sector by examining key indicators like seasonality, tourism employment, accommodation supply and tourism business mix.
According to data from TourismScapes, spending in the Southwestern Ontario tourism region is 2.4 times the national average. Seasonality is low meaning that the region sees less fluctuations in visitors throughout the year and therefore may be less susceptible to economic downturns or sudden changes in demand.
“Data insights such as these have been crucial in Tourism London’s decision making as they support our strategic planning, give us insights into consumer behaviours and highlight the value of tourism in the local economy,” said Finn. “We’re thankful to our partners at Destination Canada and the Tourism Industry Association of Canada for investing in this quantitative market research.”
“We are thrilled to learn that Tourism London has found incredible value in the Canadian Tourism Data Collective and that the insights have helped to boost evidence-based decision making, said Meaghan Ferrigno, Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer & Chief Data & Analytics Officer, Destination Canada. “This is exactly why we created the Data Collective - to empower decision makers from coast to coast to coast with actionable data to drive the growth and development of the sector.
TourismScapes and the Canadian Travel Insights Dashboard are just two of the products available in the Collective that was purpose built for the industry and we are encouraged to see that the sector is not only accessing and exploring the data but using it, as intended, to inform critical decision making.”
Read more about the Canadian Travel Insights Dashboard here.
