Vancouver travel statistics at a glance
Vancouver travel statistics show a city economy that depends on sustained visitor demand, a large airport, and a port that moves both passengers and cargo at scale. The numbers below show how tourism, air travel, cruises, and hospitality performance fit together in one of Canada’s most active travel markets.
Table of contents
- The headline numbers
- Why Vancouver travel data matters
- Tourism and visitor economy
- Air travel through YVR
- Hotel performance and occupancy
- Cruise and port activity
- What the sentiment data says
- How the stats fit together
The headline numbers
Here are the most useful Vancouver travel statistics to keep in view when reading the rest of the data.
- Vancouver tourism revenues reached $8.9B in 2024 (Destination Vancouver Research & Insights).
- Vancouver recorded 11.2M overnight visitors in 2024 (Destination Vancouver Research & Insights).
- Vancouver had 60,000+ tourism jobs in 2024 (Destination Vancouver Research & Insights).
- Vancouver tourism labour income was $3.1B in 2024 (Destination Vancouver Research & Insights).
- YVR recorded 26.2M passengers in 2024 (YVR 2024 Annual Report).
- Port of Vancouver cruise passengers reached 1,327,309 in 2024 (Port of Vancouver 2024 Statistics Overview).
- Downtown Vancouver hotel occupancy was 80% for Jan-Dec 2025 (Destination Vancouver Research & Insights).
- Downtown Vancouver hotel ADR was $342 for Jan-Dec 2025 (Destination Vancouver Research & Insights).
- Downtown Vancouver hotel RevPAR was $275 for Jan-Dec 2025 (Destination Vancouver Research & Insights).
Vancouver is not just a destination; it is a connected travel system where tourism, aviation, hotels, and port traffic reinforce one another.
Why Vancouver travel data matters
Vancouver is a useful case study because the city’s travel economy is broad rather than single-threaded. The visitor economy includes urban tourism, airport traffic, cruise activity, business travel, and the hotel market, so changes in one segment often show up elsewhere (Destination Vancouver Our Organization; YVR 2024 Annual Report; Port of Vancouver 2024 Statistics Overview).
Destination Vancouver says it has 800+ members and partners, which suggests the tourism ecosystem is large enough to include many operators and suppliers (Destination Vancouver Our Organization). That scale helps explain why travel statistics are useful beyond a simple “how many tourists arrived” question. They also help measure jobs, income, occupancy, spending, and seasonal demand patterns.
Destination Vancouver also says it is the second-oldest destination management organization in North America (Destination Vancouver About Us). That matters because long-running destination organizations usually have the institutional memory needed to track a market over time, not just in one peak season.
Tourism and visitor economy
The tourism side of Vancouver’s travel story is anchored by revenue, visits, and employment. The strongest headline is revenue: Vancouver tourism revenues reached $8.9B in 2024 (Destination Vancouver Research & Insights). That figure frames the scale of travel demand in dollar terms and gives context for the rest of the visitor economy data.
The city also recorded 11.2M overnight visitors in 2024 (Destination Vancouver Research & Insights). Overnight visitors matter because they are usually associated with hotel stays, restaurant spend, attractions, and longer local economic spillovers than same-day visits. When paired with the revenue figure, the visitor total points to a market that is large in both volume and value.
Employment is another key part of the story. Vancouver had 60,000+ tourism jobs in 2024, and tourism labour income was $3.1B in the same year (Destination Vancouver Research & Insights). Those numbers show that the travel economy is not only about visitors moving through the city; it also supports a meaningful labor market.
A compact way to compare the core tourism figures is below.
| Metric | 2024 value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Tourism revenue | $8.9B | Destination Vancouver Research & Insights |
| Overnight visitors | 11.2M | Destination Vancouver Research & Insights |
| Tourism jobs | 60,000+ | Destination Vancouver Research & Insights |
| Tourism labour income | $3.1B | Destination Vancouver Research & Insights |
The visitor economy also has a sentiment component. In the 2024 resident sentiment survey, 79% of residents said they value visitors’ contribution to the local economy, 18% were neutral, and 3% disagreed (Destination Vancouver Research & Insights). That is important because tourism growth is easier to sustain when residents broadly see economic value in it.
The 2023 to 2024 bridge
Destination Vancouver reported 10.9M overnight visitors in 2023 and said overnight visitors increased 24% from 2022 to 2023 (Destination Vancouver About Us). That gives a sense of momentum leading into 2024. The 2024 overnight visitor total of 11.2M suggests the market stayed strong after the rebound year (Destination Vancouver Research & Insights).
What stands out is not just the level, but the combination of scale and continuity. A city that can move from recovery into high-volume demand is usually one with strong transit access, a recognizable urban brand, and an ecosystem of hotels, attractions, and events that can absorb demand.
Air travel through YVR
YVR is one of the clearest indicators of how international and domestic access support the Vancouver travel economy. The airport recorded 26.2M passengers in 2024, a 5% increase from 24.9M in 2023 (YVR 2024 Annual Report). YVR says it surpassed 26M passengers only once before, in 2019 with 26.3M travelers, which places 2024 back near its pre-pandemic scale (YVR 2024 Annual Report).
Passenger growth was not evenly distributed across segments. Domestic travelers were up 0.3% in 2024 versus 2023, transborder passengers rose 9.7%, and international passengers rose 10.4% (YVR 2024 Annual Report). That mix suggests the bigger growth engine came from cross-border and international travel rather than domestic traffic alone.
YVR also hosted 54 airlines and served 120 destinations in 2024 (YVR 2024 Annual Report). Those figures help explain how the airport can support tourism, business travel, and global connectivity at the same time.
YVR passenger mix and service footprint
| Measure | 2024 value | Change or note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total passengers | 26.2M | Up 5% from 2023 | YVR 2024 Annual Report |
| Domestic passengers | Not stated | Up 0.3% | YVR 2024 Annual Report |
| Transborder passengers | Not stated | Up 9.7% | YVR 2024 Annual Report |
| International passengers | Not stated | Up 10.4% | YVR 2024 Annual Report |
| Airlines hosted | 54 | 2024 total | YVR 2024 Annual Report |
| Destinations served | 120 | 2024 total | YVR 2024 Annual Report |
YVR’s service quality metrics also matter. The airport surveyed airline customers for the fourth consecutive year in 2024, 28 of 36 carriers responded, the response rate was 78%, and 89% of responding airlines said YVR met or exceeded expectations (YVR 2024 Annual Report). YVR’s overall customer satisfaction score was 93% in 2024, up 2 percentage points over 2023 (YVR 2024 Annual Report).
That combination of passenger growth and high customer satisfaction suggests the airport is not just busy; it is also operating at a service level that airlines perceive positively. For a travel market, that is significant because airline confidence affects route stability and network expansion.
YVR’s noise and sustainability data add another layer. The annual noise report says YVR received 1,098 noise concerns from 197 individuals across Greater Vancouver in 2024, with 289,395 total aircraft movements and 26,205,801 passengers (YVR Annual Noise Report). The same report says aircraft movements were 2% higher than 2023 and 11% lower than 2019, while passenger traffic was 5% higher than 2023 (YVR Annual Noise Report). That pairing is useful because it shows how traffic volume can recover while movement patterns stay below older peaks.
Hotel performance and occupancy
Hotel data turns travel demand into a concrete business signal. Downtown Vancouver hotel occupancy was 66% in December 2025 and 80% for Jan-Dec 2025 (Destination Vancouver Research & Insights). The average daily rate was $255 in December 2025 and $342 for Jan-Dec 2025, while RevPAR was $169 in December 2025 and $275 for Jan-Dec 2025 (Destination Vancouver Research & Insights).
Those numbers suggest a market with strong annual performance and a softer December snapshot relative to the full year. That is useful because monthly data can reveal seasonal pressure while annual totals show the broader trend.
Hotel metrics at a glance
| Metric | December 2025 | Jan-Dec 2025 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Occupancy | 66% | 80% | Destination Vancouver Research & Insights |
| ADR | $255 | $342 | Destination Vancouver Research & Insights |
| RevPAR | $169 | $275 | Destination Vancouver Research & Insights |
Occupancy at 80% across the full year is a strong indicator that room demand was sustained rather than limited to a few peak periods. ADR at $342 for the full year shows that the market was also able to hold relatively high pricing. When occupancy and ADR are both solid, RevPAR follows, and in this case the full-year RevPAR of $275 reflects that relationship (Destination Vancouver Research & Insights).
For readers comparing travel markets, hotel performance is often one of the fastest ways to see whether a destination is demand-led or merely passing through visitors. Vancouver’s hotel data points to a destination that can support both volume and rate.
Cruise and port activity
The Port of Vancouver adds another major travel channel. Port of Vancouver cruise passengers reached 1,327,309 in 2024, up 7% from 2023, and cruise voyages totaled 327 in the same year (Port of Vancouver 2024 Statistics Overview). That means cruise activity is not a niche add-on; it is a substantial seasonal driver.
The passenger split also helps explain the operational flow. There were 657,389 embarking cruise passengers, 653,745 disembarking cruise passengers, and 16,175 in-transit cruise passengers in 2024 (Port of Vancouver 2024 Statistics Overview). Those numbers are almost evenly balanced between embarkations and disembarkations, which suggests Vancouver plays an important turn-around role for cruise itineraries.
Cruise volume by type
| Cruise measure | 2024 value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Total cruise passengers | 1,327,309 | Port of Vancouver 2024 Statistics Overview |
| Embarking passengers | 657,389 | Port of Vancouver 2024 Statistics Overview |
| Disembarking passengers | 653,745 | Port of Vancouver 2024 Statistics Overview |
| In-transit passengers | 16,175 | Port of Vancouver 2024 Statistics Overview |
| Cruise voyages | 327 | Port of Vancouver 2024 Statistics Overview |
The port’s broader cargo profile is also relevant to travel because it reflects how transportation infrastructure serves multiple markets at once. Port of Vancouver container throughput reached 3,473,822 TEUs in 2024, total tonnage reached 158,380,817 metric tonnes, and auto units reached 468,798 (Port of Vancouver 2024 Statistics Overview). Foreign vessel arrivals were 3,116, and foreign vessel GRT reached 165,329,933 (Port of Vancouver 2024 Statistics Overview).
That cargo scale is not travel demand in the narrow sense, but it is part of the same transportation ecosystem. A major port and a major cruise terminal reinforce the city’s role as a gateway rather than just a destination.
What the sentiment data says
Resident sentiment is one of the most overlooked parts of travel statistics. Vancouver’s 2024 resident survey shows broad support for tourism’s role in the local economy: 79% value visitors’ contribution, 18% are neutral, and 3% disagree (Destination Vancouver Research & Insights).
That matters because travel growth usually lasts longer when residents tolerate or welcome it. If local sentiment becomes negative, pressure can rise around congestion, housing, transit, and public space. A strong support base gives tourism a better chance of staying politically and socially sustainable.
It is also worth linking sentiment to performance. If a city is generating $8.9B in tourism revenue, 11.2M overnight visitors, and 60,000+ tourism jobs, public perception is not just a branding issue; it is part of the operating environment for the industry itself (Destination Vancouver Research & Insights).
How the stats fit together
The clearest takeaway from Vancouver travel statistics is that the market works as an interlocking system. Tourism revenue, overnight visitors, hotel occupancy, airport traffic, and cruise passengers all point in the same direction: Vancouver is a high-volume, high-connectivity destination with meaningful economic weight (Destination Vancouver Research & Insights; YVR 2024 Annual Report; Port of Vancouver 2024 Statistics Overview).
A few relationships stand out:
- High airport volumes support both leisure and business travel, while 120 destinations and 54 airlines expand the city’s reach (YVR 2024 Annual Report).
- Strong hotel occupancy and ADR suggest demand is broad enough to support rate as well as volume (Destination Vancouver Research & Insights).
- Cruise passenger totals show that Vancouver also functions as a gateway for marine tourism, not just a city stopover (Port of Vancouver 2024 Statistics Overview).
- Resident sentiment shows that tourism has not detached itself from local economic support, which is a useful sign for long-term stability (Destination Vancouver Research & Insights).
The overall picture is of a destination with multiple demand engines rather than a single seasonal spike. That is what makes Vancouver travel statistics useful: they describe a city where tourism is not isolated, but connected to labor, transport, hospitality, and public sentiment in measurable ways.