Skip to content
RS35163 tk drone cityscape 0142
About Tourism Kingston

The impact of tourism in Kingston

Tourism in Kingston

Kingston is centrally positioned in the Toronto-Ottawa-Montréal corridor and part of the world famous Thousand Islands. More than 14.5 million Canadians – or a third of the country’s population – live within a three-hour drive of Kingston and thousands of US residents live just across the border.

This geographic proximity combined with Kingston’s history and heritage, lakeside location, lively arts and culture scene, several anchor tourism attractions, and 40+ accommodation properties, sees tourism contribute substantially to the city’s economy.

In 2024, Kingston welcomed 2.6 million visitors who spent $512 million staying, shopping, dining, and experiencing the city. 

Tourism in Kingston creates

  • $775 M economic impact
  • $512 M visitor spending
  • $353 M GDP
  • 10% local jobs
  • $204 M local income
  • $24 M municipal tax ($410 offset per household)

  • 2024 economic impact $775 million economic impact $512 million visitor spending 2.6 million visitors 681,260 room nights 53% day visitors 47% overnight visitors

Visitor Origin: 2024

  • 82% from Ontario
  • 10% from the rest of Canada
  • 5% from the US
  • 3% international

Domestic Visitor Profile: 2024

  • 54% hold white collar jobs
  • 55% hold a college/university degree or diploma or higher
  • 44% have a household income of $60,000 or higher
  • 80% have taken two or more vacations in the past three year
  • 52% spent $1,000 or more on their last vacation

Visitor Metrics: 2024

  • 47% of visitors stay overnight
  • 26.5 average length of stay
  • 410 km average distance travelled
  • 46% are repeat visitors

Detailed reports