\n
<\/p>\n
Domestic travel continued to boom while <\/p>\n
travel<\/p>\n
to the United States declined as Canadians chose destinations closer to home in the first half of the year, according to vacation rental company <\/p>\n
Airbnb Inc. <\/p>\n
The short-term-stay booking platform said reservations within the country jumped by more than 10 per cent in the first six months of 2025 compared with 2024. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe momentum in domestic travel has real staying power,\u201d Airbnb said in a <\/p>\n
press release<\/p>\n
. \u201cTravellers are choosing to explore closer to home, spending their travel dollars locally and supporting Canadian hosts, small businesses and communities in doing so.\u201d <\/p>\n
Hannah Parish, Airbnb\u2019s recently-appointed country manager for Canada, said the trend in domestic travel growth shows no signs of abating heading into the latter part of the summer. <\/p>\n
Airbnb\u2019s data show a nationwide surge in domestic travel, with higher numbers in nearly every province and territory this year. Smaller towns and rural communities are attracting more visitors, the company said, spreading the economic benefits of tourism beyond major hubs. <\/p>\n
Airbnb is available in 50 per cent more postal codes than hotels in the country, Parish said, adding that Canadians are \u201ctravelling to communities where they maybe haven\u2019t spent much time before.\u201d <\/p>\n
Small towns and some provinces had big gains in the first half of 2025. Domestic bookings were up by more than 20 per cent year-over-year in Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Saskatchewan, according to Airbnb data. <\/p>\n
Parish said the vast majority of reservations by Canadians have always been domestic, with the company\u2019s historical data showing about 70 per cent of Canadian clients book within Canada. <\/p>\n
\u201cA 10 per cent increase within Canada when Canadians are already travelling at home a lot is really significant, and I actually look at that as the key indicator of health,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
In June, the company said its analysis estimated that Airbnb\u2013related travel\u00a0generated <\/p>\n
nearly $10.8 billion<\/p>\n
in economic activity across Canada in 2024. <\/p>\n
Canadians are also showing more appetite for non-U.S. international trips, with a nearly double-digit increase in bookings to alternative destinations compared to the first half of 2024 to countries such as Japan, Brazil, France, the Philippines, Thailand and Mexico have grown by double digits, it said. <\/p>\n
In April, Airbnb released data that showed\u00a0Canadian <\/p>\n
searches for domestic stays<\/p>\n
for all dates in 2025 had jumped approximately 20 per cent compared to the previous year. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Parish said Airbnb has seen a double-digit decline in Canadian travel to the U.S., which accounts for less than 10 per cent of that country\u2019s inbound visits. Domestic travel is the top segment for both the Canadian and U.S. markets. <\/p>\n
\u201cCanadians used to travel a lot to the U.S. (And) we are seeing declines that are sort of in line with what you\u2019re seeing (from) Statistics Canada,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Statistics Canada\u2019s latest monthly data on international arrivals to Canada, released on\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aug. 11<\/p>\n
, showed a 25.8 per cent decline in the number of returning Canadian-resident trips by air from the U.S., and a 36.9 per cent decline by automobile in July compared to the same month in 2024. July 2025 marked the seventh-consecutive month of year-over-year declines, the agency said. <\/p>\n