London, Ont. saw more than $1B in tourism spending in 2023: report

This is promising news for 2024 and its financial impact on London, especially as the tourism industry begins to bounce back after the pandemic.

Tourism spending in London, Ont., reached over $1 billion in 2023, according to a report from Tourism London.

The report, prepared by the Conference Board of Canada, shows tourism spending in the city rose by 10.8 per cent last year, bringing in an extra $106.5 million for the local economy compared with 2022. This brings the yearly spending total for overnight tourists in 2023 to a total of $1.08 billion.

“When we talk about new initiatives, initiatives through 100 Kellogg, the initiatives and investment through East Park, what our restaurants are doing in regards to building culinary presence in a very competitive market and our UNESCO City of Music designation has brought us into that international market,” says Cheryl Finn, general manager of Tourism London.

“Our staples are growing, like Rock the Park and Sunfest, the air show. These are must-see and must-attend festivals and events now for many people coming in from all over the world.”

Earlier this month, Rock the Park and Sunfest achieved record ticket sales and crowds.

The city hosted nearly 2.1 million overnight visitors over the course of 2023, with 136,000 visitors from the United States, 25,000 coming internationally and nearly two million domestic tourists. This tourism activity helped generate roughly $1,052 million in gross domestic product (GDP) for the province, and nearly $616.1 million for the local economy.

“Our partners are incredibly willing to come to the table,” Finn says. “None of this is done by ourselves, it’s always in collaboration with others, and we couldn’t be more proud of those people that continually want to work with us.”

This is promising news for 2024 and tourism’s financial impact on London, especially as the industry begins to bounce back after the pandemic. This boom in tourism supported 10,196 jobs provincially, 7,864 of which were in London.