Industry hoping for a 'Swift' surge

Pop star’s six-night run could be economic bump

- CHRISTOPHER REYNOLDS

Taylor Swift’s six concerts at Rogers Centre this November have led to a 300 per cent jump in hotel reservations for the month, said Destination Toronto CEO Andrew Weir.

Visitors injected billions of dollars into Toronto’s economy last year, a new study finds, but tourists have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels amid signs of slowing growth.

Some 26.5 million visitors arrived in 2023 and spent $8.4 billion — the bulk of it on hotels, restaurants and transportation — according to a report from Tourism Economics.

However, tourist numbers fell short of the high water mark in 2019, when 28 million people descended on the city, according to tourism organization Destination Toronto, which commissioned the study.

Last year, 88 per cent of visitors were Canadian, while nearly seven per cent came from the U.S. and 4.5 per cent from overseas. The percentages for the latter two were higher before the pandemic.