Toronto lost $8.35 billion in economic activity due to COVID-19 pandemic

By: Vincenzo Morello

Toronto lost $8.35 billion in economic activity from tourist spending due to the travel restrictions and lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an analysis Destination Toronto released on Thursday.

The analysis found that the industries most affected by the reduction in tourism spending were retail, which had a $1.67 billion loss in economy activity, food and beverage lost $1.3 billion, accommodations lost $1.2 billion and attractions and entertainment lost $707 million.

“Simply stated, 380,000 attendees didn’t come to Toronto over the past year. As a result, they didn’t stay in hotels or visit attractions, didn’t spend money in our retail shops, or eat in our restaurants,” Scott Beck, the president and chief executive officer of Destination Toronto said.

“Prior to the pandemic, Toronto had been riding a wave of momentum and experienced annual growth in visitor spending for over a decade.”

The analysis from Destination Toronto stemmed from a visitor economy study that was produced by Tourism Toronto in partnership with the Toronto Region Board of Trade and released in 2019. According to the study, Toronto’s 27.5 million visitors generated an economic impact of $10.3 billion and supported 70,000 jobs.

Another sector that was hit hard by the pandemic was the meetings and events industry. Destination Toronto tracked 463 conferences and events that were cancelled or postponed since the pandemic began, costing $833 million in losses.