Many predicted it, and it continues to happen. Calgary is enjoying Canada’s sudden staycation boom.
This year, more than ever, Canadians—and Calgarians—are opting for staycations. There are several triggers. Lingering political tensions. Border uncertainty and commotion worries. Many Canadians are cancelling trips, particularly to the U.S., due to political unrest and re-thinking their travel plans. Also, a gush of Canadian pride and a desire to support the Canadian economy are helping to boost Calgary tourism.
They’re coming—from Red Deer, Toronto, Saskatoon, Beijing, Warsaw, Glasgow, Peoria, Des Moines and beyond. The Calgary area has always been a desirable travel hot spot, and 2025 is hotter than ever. Not only for Calgarians but from throughout Alberta, other provinces and internationally.
Calgary continues as a big tourism draw.
Stampede. The Calgary Tower. The sprawling, new BMO Centre. Rafting down the Bow. Calgary Zoo. The Red Mile. The Saddledome (set to be the $900 million, 20,000 people capacity Scotia Place in 2027). Heritage Park. Fort Calgary. The easy commute to Banff and Lake Louise. And much more!
Although it is too soon for a detailed stats about Calgary’s local, national, and international visitor totals, one random indicator is overall Stampede attendance numbers spiked. Based solely on ticket sales data, Canadian attendance reached its highest level in three years, making up 84 per cent of ticket buyers in 2025. The strongest year-over-year gains came from Quebec and Saskatchewan, while Ontario and British Columbia continued as the largest source of visitors from outside Alberta.
The final attendance for Stampede 2025 was 1,470,288, making it the second-highest attendance in Stampede history.
“In 2025, we have seen visitor spend in our market, continue to grow over 2024 performance – which was $2.9B in total visitor spend, representing an increase of 9.2% over 2023,” says the upbeat Alisha Reynolds, president and CEO of Tourism Calgary.
“May saw record-breaking occupancy for Calgary hotels at 73.2 per cent, which is a 13-year record, and the robust hotel performance has maintained through the summer. The Conference Board of Canada has forecasted Calgary to welcome 8.7 million visitors in 2025,” she adds.
Tourism Calgary, which enthusiastically focuses on beating the drums for attracting Calgary tourism was ahead of this year’s staycation spike when it outlined its ambitious and aggressive plan to double the city’s tourism economy from $2.9 billion in 2024 to $6 billion by 2035.
Whether it’s the Calgary-positive side effects of proud Canadian backlash, Canadians re-thinking U.S. travel plans or other reasons, it’s looking good for Calgary!
And Tourism Calgary’s Alisha Reynolds is gung-ho, realistic and forecasts that tourism is becoming one of the largest economic sectors in Calgary.
