Canada’s ecotourism picture combines large-scale coastal travel, protected-area visitation and measurable local economic effects. Ocean and coastal ecosystems supported 64 million days of nature-based tourism in 2023, while visitors to Parks Canada administered places contributed $5.9 billion to Canada’s GDP from April 2025 to March 2026. The statistics below separate visitor days, monetary estimates, fiscal-year counts and conservation area shares so each measure is read in its proper context.
Contents
- Coastal nature-based tourism in Canada
- Regional coastal demand
- Monetary value of coastal tourism
- Protected-area visitation
- Parks Canada’s economic contribution
- Conservation scale and measurement notes
Coastal nature-based tourism in Canada
Statistics Canada recorded 63 million days of nature-based tourism associated with ocean and coastal ecosystems in 2018. The comparable figure was 61 million days in 2019, followed by 33 million in 2020. It then increased to 50 million in 2021, 61 million in 2022 and 64 million in 2023. These are tourism days, not unique visitors, so one person can account for more than one day.
| Year | Ocean and coastal nature-based tourism days |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 63 million |
| 2019 | 61 million |
| 2020 | 33 million |
| 2021 | 50 million |
| 2022 | 61 million |
| 2023 | 64 million |
The series shows a sharp low point in 2020 and a return above the 2018 level by 2023. The 2023 result was the highest figure in this six-year set. For travel planning, the important distinction is that the data describes nature-based tourism connected with ocean and coastal ecosystems across Canada, rather than a count for one park, one province or one operator.
Statistics Canada defines nature-based tourism in this series as travel outside a person’s usual location to enjoy the environment through direct physical and experiential interaction. The ocean and coastal series excludes recreation by local residents. Source: Statistics Canada, “Ecosystem spotlight—oceans”.
Regional coastal demand
The Pacific and Atlantic ocean regions account for much of the regional detail reported in the series. Pacific-region nature-based tourism days were 37 million in 2018, 34 million in 2019, 17 million in 2020, 27 million in 2021, 33 million in 2022 and 39 million in 2023.
Atlantic-region totals were 26 million days in 2018, 26 million in 2019, 15 million in 2020, 23 million in 2021, 27 million in 2022 and 25 million in 2023.
| Year | Pacific region | Atlantic region |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 37 million | 26 million |
| 2019 | 34 million | 26 million |
| 2020 | 17 million | 15 million |
| 2021 | 27 million | 23 million |
| 2022 | 33 million | 27 million |
| 2023 | 39 million | 25 million |
The Pacific region recorded its highest supplied value in 2023, at 39 million days. The Atlantic region’s highest values in the period were 27 million days in 2022. Both regions reached their lowest supplied values in 2020, with 17 million Pacific days and 15 million Atlantic days.
These regional groupings are based on coastal provinces. The source notes that Arctic values are included in the national totals but are not shown separately in the regional chart. Consequently, the Pacific and Atlantic figures should not be treated as a complete regional breakdown of every Canadian ocean area.
Monetary value of coastal tourism
The inflation-adjusted value of Canada’s ocean and coastal nature-based tourism was $331 million in 2017 dollars in 2018 and $321 million in 2019. It fell to $103 million in 2020, then rose to $235 million in 2021, $317 million in 2022 and $372 million in 2023.
The monetary series follows the same broad pattern as tourism days: a decline through 2020 and recovery afterward. Its unit is important. These are inflation-adjusted values expressed in 2017 dollars, and Statistics Canada describes the monetary values as experimental. They should therefore be read as estimates within that statistical framework, not as current-dollar receipts or a direct measure of every tourism business’s revenue.
| Year | Canada-wide value, 2017 dollars |
|---|---|
| 2018 | $331 million |
| 2019 | $321 million |
| 2020 | $103 million |
| 2021 | $235 million |
| 2022 | $317 million |
| 2023 | $372 million |
The Pacific region’s inflation-adjusted value was $215 million in 2017 dollars in 2018, $206 million in 2019, $69 million in 2020, $159 million in 2021, $205 million in 2022 and $261 million in 2023. The Atlantic region’s value was $114 million in 2018, $114 million in 2019, $33 million in 2020, $75 million in 2021, $111 million in 2022 and $110 million in 2023, all in 2017 dollars.
Source for the Canada-wide and regional values: Statistics Canada, “Ecosystem spotlight—oceans”. The source’s scope limitations apply: the monetary values are experimental, and the national totals include Arctic values that are not shown separately in the regional chart.
Protected-area visitation
Parks Canada places recorded 24.9 million visits in fiscal year 2019–2020. Visits fell to 17.0 million in fiscal year 2020–2021, then reached 21.6 million in fiscal year 2021–2022, 22.5 million in fiscal year 2022–2023 and 23.7 million in fiscal year 2023–2024.
| Parks Canada places | Visits |
|---|---|
| Fiscal 2019–2020 | 24.9 million |
| Fiscal 2020–2021 | 17.0 million |
| Fiscal 2021–2022 | 21.6 million |
| Fiscal 2022–2023 | 22.5 million |
| Fiscal 2023–2024 | 23.7 million |
Within fiscal year 2022–2023, national parks recorded 15.2 million visits. This is a national-parks measure for that fiscal year, while the broader Parks Canada places figure covers the agency’s places as reported in the departmental results data. The measures should not be combined as if they represented separate visitor populations.
Banff National Park welcomed 4.28 million visitors in 2023 and 4.21 million visitors in 2024. Those annual Banff counts provide a park-level view alongside the national Parks Canada series, but they use calendar years rather than the fiscal-year periods in the departmental results report.
Sources: Parks Canada’s Departmental results report for fiscal year 2023 to 2024 and Banff National Park of Canada, Annual Report 2023 & 2024.
Parks Canada’s economic contribution
Visitors to Parks Canada administered places spent $6.5 billion in communities in or near national parks and national historic sites from April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026. During the same period, those visitors contributed $5.9 billion to Canada’s GDP, generated $3.4 billion in labour income and generated $839 million in taxes for all levels of government.
The same Parks Canada economic-impact reporting attributes 58,736 full-time-equivalent jobs to this visitor activity. It also reports approximately 80,550 full-time and part-time jobs. These are different measures: full-time-equivalent jobs standardize work into full-time units, while the full-time and part-time figure counts jobs under the stated reporting basis.
For national parks, including marine conservation areas, visitors spent $6.2 billion from April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026. This activity contributed $5.7 billion to Canada’s GDP, supported 55,836 full-time-equivalent jobs and generated $779 million in taxes. These national-park figures are a subset of the broader Parks Canada administered-places reporting described above.
The economic-impact estimates include direct, indirect and induced effects. They describe the measured economic contribution associated with visitors to Parks Canada administered places during the stated period; they are not a forecast of future tourism revenue. Source: Economic impact of visitors to Parks Canada administered places (2025–2026).
Conservation scale and measurement notes
At the end of 2025, 15.5% of Canada’s coastal and marine areas was recognized as conserved through protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures. Within that total, 11.4% was recognized as protected areas. These are area shares, not visitor shares and not percentages of tourism activity.
For terrestrial areas and inland waters, 14.0% was recognized as conserved through protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures at the end of 2025. The protected-area share within that category was 12.9%.
The distinction between “conserved” and “protected” matters when interpreting Canadian ecotourism statistics. The conserved measure includes protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, while the protected-area percentage is narrower. Neither percentage indicates how many people visited a site, how much money visitors spent or how much of a destination is available for tourism.
Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada, “Canada’s conserved areas”.
Across the datasets, the measurement periods also differ. Coastal tourism days and their experimental monetary values are reported by calendar year through 2023. Parks Canada place visits are reported by fiscal year through 2023–2024, while Banff’s supplied figures are for calendar years 2023 and 2024. The economic-impact figures cover April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026, and conservation shares are stated as of the end of 2025. Keeping those periods separate is essential when using the figures to plan a Canadian nature-focused trip or compare destinations.