2011 was a hot year in tourism for Toronto, with the city drawing a record 10 million overnight visitors.
Tourism Toronto says visitor spending in the city reached $4.6 billion in various business and activities, supporting close to a quarter million jobs in the tourism and hospitality industry.
As usual, the Canadian market was the largest source of visitors, which at over 5 million visitors, was a slight increase of 0.6 percent compared to the previous year.
More than three quarters of Canadian visitors came from Ontario, while Quebec and Alberta accounted for the most out of province visitors at 10.2 and 3.3 percent respectively.
For the first time in five years, the city saw a rise in overnight visitors from the U.S. who increasingly tend to be high-value “urban dwellers” that stay longer and spend more, according to Tourism Toronto.
“Toronto has a new lustre among sophisticated U.S. travellers, illustrated by its inclusion as one of Travel + Leisure magazine’s ‘Hottest Destinations in 2012,’” David Whitaker, president and CEO of Tourism Toronto, said in a statement.
