2025 was record year for Canadian domestic travel: Airbnb

Airbnb's Canadian users showed a strong preference for exploring their own province, such as 70 per cent of domestic travel by Ontarians occurring within Ontario. Photo by Handout/Airbnb

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Airbnb’s report said domestic guest arrivals reached over 9.5 million last year and accounted for over 60 per cent of all Canadian trips on the platform.

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“2025 was a record year for Canadians exploring their own country,” the report said, “underscoring a surging appetite for discovering the neighbourhoods and communities that make up their own backyard.”

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The report comes as transborder traffic — trips from Canada to the United States — continued to decline over the past year as Canadians shunned travel to their southern neighbour.

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Statistics Canada’s latest travel data released on May 1 said screened transborder air traffic fell seven per cent in March, marking the 14th consecutive month of year-over-year decreases. In comparison, it said the number of passengers screened for domestic flights in the same month increased by 10.1 per cent from last year.

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Airbnb’s report said the economic impact of domestic travel through its platform also reached record levels last year, generating nearly $10.9 billion in economic activity.

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It said the influx of visitor spending supported an estimated 100,000 jobs in 2025, contributing to more than $7.7 billion in labour income across the country.

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“This impact underscores how travel on Airbnb continues to support neighbourhoods nationwide by generating economic opportunity for local residents, while also supporting small businesses, mom-and-pop shops and local attractions,” it said.

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The company said that because many listings are located outside traditional tourism hubs, the economic benefits reached communities that might not otherwise attract tourism dollars.

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Airbnb’s Canadian users also showed a strong preference for exploring their own province, with 70 per cent of domestic travel by Ontarians occurring within Ontario and the same for British Columbians in B.C., while 62 per cent for Quebecers travelled within their province and 51 per cent of Albertans travelled within Alberta.

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The Northwest Territories saw the greatest increase in domestic guest arrivals of any individual destination, said Airbnb. Atlantic Canada led the country in regional growth, while Alberta posted the strongest growth in Western Canada.

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Airbnb said travel on the platform generated nearly $360 million in tax revenue, including over $171 million in federal GST, HST and QST.

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Meanwhile, the number of Canadians travelling to non-U.S. international destinations reached its highest point since 2019, at nearly 30 per cent, the company said.

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