Calgary’s tourism industry is entering 2026 with renewed momentum after a strong performance throughout 2025, overcoming early-year consumer uncertainty to achieve notable growth across all major tourism metrics.
With a series of high-profile sporting events and large-scale conventions lined up for the winter months, the city is poised to sustain its upward trajectory and attract both domestic and international visitors in record numbers.
Tourism data spanning January 1 to September 30, 2025, highlights a year of exceptional performance for Calgary, particularly in visitor spending, hotel occupancy, and air travel. Visitor spending—a critical indicator of both tourism volume and economic contribution—rose 4.0% compared to 2024, reflecting increased engagement with Calgary’s culinary, cultural, and entertainment offerings.
Peak spending months corresponded with major events such as the G7 Summit, the Calgary Stampede, and the Rotary International Convention, which drew more than 16,000 delegates from over 140 countries. May saw an 8.8% rise in spending, June surged by 22.9%, July grew 2.1%, and August posted a 1.7% increase, demonstrating a consistent appetite for travel experiences and high-value events.
Calgary started the year strong with incoming international flights up 11.1% and domestic flights up 9.2%.
With the addition of new direct flights into Calgary International Airport, international travel from the U.S.A. (Calgary’s largest international market) strengthened Calgary’s visitation in the first half of the year. Similarly, projected growth in interprovincial travel from B.C. and Ontario, which are Calgary’s largest air-travelled provinces, and Manitoba and Quebec, are all up year-to-date and expected to anchor the second half of the year.
The Conference Board of Canada has forecasted Calgary to welcome 8.7 million visitors in 2025, an anticipated 3.6% increase over 2024, and Tourism Calgary is anticipating exceeding this estimate.
2026 is shaping up to be a very vibrant year with a sport or cultural event almost every week in the first quarter, as well as 12 city-wide conventions (a city-wide is 600+ contracted hotel room nights on peak and Calgary hosted 9 in 2025).
