Northwest Territories tourism reached 75,600 visitors in the 2024-2025 tourism year, while estimated visitor spending reached $155 million. The latest figures also show a destination shaped by aurora trips, business travel, short stays, long-distance transportation costs, and strong interest in northern parks. The statistics below identify the measurement period and distinguish estimates from survey results.
Contents
- Visitor volume and recovery
- Trip purposes and activities
- Visitor spending by purpose
- Budgets, stays, and spending categories
- Where visitors come from
- Parks visitation by region
Visitor volume and recovery
The Northwest Territories recorded 75,600 visitors in the 2024-2025 tourism year. That was 5% higher than the 2023 comparison figure reported in Tourism in the NWT: A Year in Review 2024-2025. The same review estimated visitor spending at $155 million, 19% higher than 2023 after adjustment. It also reported that the territory had recovered to 65% of its 2019 visitor level. These are tourism-year results, not a calendar-year count. (Tourism in the NWT: A Year in Review 2024-2025)
For a separate 2023 reference point, Northwest Territories Visitation and Visitor Spending Data, 2015-2023 estimated total NWT visitation at 72,000. The 2023 data and the 2024-2025 review use different reporting periods and should not be treated as a perfectly like-for-like annual series. (Northwest Territories Visitation and Visitor Spending Data, 2015-2023)
| Measure | Period | Reported result |
|---|---|---|
| Total visitors | 2024-2025 tourism year | 75,600 |
| Visitor-volume change | 2024-2025 vs. 2023 | 5% growth |
| Estimated visitor spending | 2024-2025 tourism year | $155 million |
| Adjusted spending change | 2024-2025 vs. 2023 | 19% higher |
| Estimated total visitation | 2023 | 72,000 |
| Recovery relative to 2019 visitors | 2024-2025 | 65% |
For travel planning, the broad pattern is clear: the territory’s visitor economy was growing in the latest review, but the reported recovery level remained below the 2019 benchmark. The spending figure is an estimate, and the comparison with 2023 includes an adjustment, so it is best used as a planning indicator rather than a precise personal-cost forecast.
Trip purposes and activities
The 2024-2025 review reports two related ways of describing the visitor mix. By the main purpose of surveyed visitors, holiday, leisure, or recreation represented 63%, conferences or business-related events represented 22%, and visiting friends or relatives represented 15%. The same review’s reported-trip-purpose breakdown identifies aurora viewing at 47%, business travel at 22%, visiting friends or relatives at 15%, outdoor adventure at 6%, general touring at 5%, and fishing at 4%. (Tourism in the NWT: A Year in Review 2024-2025)
The categories answer slightly different planning questions: one groups visitors by their stated main purpose, while the other describes reported trips by travel purpose. They should not be added together or treated as one single segmentation. Together, they show that leisure is central, aurora viewing is a particularly prominent activity, and business travel is a substantial part of the market.
The 2023 visitation data gives selected activity counts. Aurora viewing represented 29,520 visits, outdoor adventure represented 7,400, visiting friends and relatives represented 11,520, and business travel represented 15,120. These are 2023 figures and are not a forecast for a later season. (Northwest Territories Visitation and Visitor Spending Data, 2015-2023)
Visitor spending by purpose
The 2023 spending data estimated total visitor spending at $129.3 million. Leisure visitors generated an estimated $76.1 million, while business travel generated an estimated $53.0 million. Those two reported purpose totals are the largest figures in the dataset. (Northwest Territories Visitation and Visitor Spending Data, 2015-2023)
Other 2023 estimates were $35.7 million from aurora-viewing visitors, $12.3 million from general-touring visitors, $10.0 million from outdoor-adventure visitors, $7.1 million from fishing visitors, $6.7 million from visitors traveling to see friends or relatives, and $4.5 million from hunting visitors. Each amount is an estimated spending total associated with the named visitor group, not a stated average per person or per trip.
| 2023 visitor purpose | Estimated spending |
|---|---|
| Leisure | $76.1 million |
| Business travel | $53.0 million |
| Aurora viewing | $35.7 million |
| General touring | $12.3 million |
| Outdoor adventure | $10.0 million |
| Fishing | $7.1 million |
| Visiting friends or relatives | $6.7 million |
| Hunting | $4.5 million |
The purpose categories overlap in the way tourism reporting commonly describes travel: for example, aurora viewing can be part of a broader leisure trip. The figures therefore work best as reported category estimates, not as components to sum into a new total. The reported overall total remains $129.3 million for 2023.
Budgets, stays, and spending categories
The 2024-2025 airport exit survey reported a median tourist budget of $2,041. The median tourist length of stay was 4 days, and the average party size was 1.93 people. A median is the midpoint of the reported distribution, while the party-size figure is an average; neither should be read as a universal budget or itinerary length. (Tourism in the NWT: A Year in Review 2024-2025)
Transportation was the largest reported spending category. Transportation to and from the NWT represented 36% of tourist spending in the 2024-2025 review. Hotels represented 21%, food and beverages 14%, recreation and entertainment 10%, and transportation within the NWT another 10%.
The remaining reported categories were other items at 5%, and clothes, gifts, and souvenirs at 3%. These shares describe the survey’s spending mix. They are not personal budget recommendations, and the categories should not be used to infer prices for a specific community, season, route, or type of accommodation. (Tourism in the NWT: A Year in Review 2024-2025)
For itinerary planning, the distribution highlights why transportation deserves early attention. The reported 36% share for travel to and from the territory was larger than the hotel share, and the survey’s median stay was four days. A traveler’s actual total can differ substantially depending on purpose, origin, party size, and activities, none of which can be calculated from these percentages alone.
Where visitors come from
Canadian residents represented 60% of tourists in the 2024-2025 airport exit survey. The largest named provincial shares were Ontario at 18%, Alberta at 17%, and British Columbia at 13%. Other Canadian provinces or territories accounted for 12%, while Northwest Territories residents accounted for 4% and Quebec residents for 3%. (Tourism in the NWT: A Year in Review 2024-2025)
International origins in the same survey included United States residents at 11%, Taiwan residents at 5%, South Korea residents at 5%, and Hong Kong residents at 3%. The percentages describe the airport-exit-survey tourist sample, not necessarily the origin distribution of every visitor counted in the territory’s total visitation estimate.
The survey also reported an average tourist age of 41.4 years. That statistic describes the surveyed tourists and should not be treated as a fixed age profile for all future visitors. For trip planning, the origin data indicates a mix of domestic and international demand, with Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia the largest named Canadian sources in this survey.
Parks visitation by region
NWT parks recorded 75,986 overnight visitors in the 2025 season. Overnight visitation increased 0.3% compared with the 2024 parks season. The parks figures are a seasonal measure and should not be substituted for the territory-wide tourism-year visitor count. (Tourism in the NWT: A Year in Review 2024-2025)
The North Slave region recorded 44,290 estimated overnight park visitors in 2025, the largest regional figure reported. South Slave recorded 23,061, Beaufort Delta 5,410, and Dehcho 3,223. The regional counts are estimates for overnight park visitors, not a ranking of all tourism visits or all visitor spending.
| NWT region | Estimated overnight park visitors, 2025 | Change from 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| North Slave | 44,290 | 7% decrease |
| South Slave | 23,061 | 13% increase |
| Beaufort Delta | 5,410 | 7% increase |
| Dehcho | 3,223 | 13% increase |
The overall parks result was nearly flat despite different regional movements. Beaufort Delta overnight park visitation increased 7%, Dehcho increased 13%, North Slave decreased 7%, and South Slave increased 13% in 2025 compared with 2024. These changes describe overnight park visitation, so they should be kept separate from the airport survey’s visitor origins, budgets, and trip-purpose measures.