Toronto Tourism After the 2026 FIFA World Cup: Visitors Spent C$1,033 Each
Visitors who stayed overnight during the 2026 FIFA World Cup spent an average of nearly seven nights in Ontario and C$1,033 per person there, excluding flights and match tickets, according to Destination Ontario. In Toronto, the question is how much of that spending reached businesses beyond the stadium and major fan zones. The city tried to draw supporters into its neighbourhoods. Thirty-nine of Toronto’s 86 business improvement areas ran tournament programming, including “Liberty Kicks” in Liberty Village and community art workshops in Fort York and CityPlace. Toronto also invested C$1.7 million through the Toronto Arts Council in community celebrations, among them events in Broadview Danforth and at Evergreen Brick Works. The aim was to bring visitors and spending to local shops and organizations. The tournament’s effects were especially visible near the stadium, where pedestrian traffic rose between 70% and 160% above normal levels, depending on the match. General city traffic remained stable, though the source does not establish how visitors travelled between districts. A survey conducted between June 11 and July 19 found that 25% of respondents also visited parts of Ontario outside Toronto. Those figures show the scale of visitor activity, but not whether independent Toronto businesses received a lasting financial boost. The survey did find that 92% of visitors intended to return within two years.
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