Yukon tourism reached an estimated 690,300 visitors in 2025, up 20.3% from 2024 and 27.6% above 2019 visitation. The figures below show how that growth appeared across visitor volumes, airport and border traffic, road travel, accommodation costs, tourism revenue, occupancy, and employment.
Contents
- Visitor volumes and recovery
- Air arrivals and airport patterns
- International border crossings
- Road travel and American vehicles
- Hotel rates and seasonal costs
- Tourism spending and economic contribution
- Occupancy and tourism employment
Visitor volumes and recovery
The broadest measure of Yukon tourism is the estimated number of visitors entering the territory. According to Estimated visitors | Yukon tourism indicators, Yukon received an estimated 690,300 visitors in 2025. That was an estimated 20.3% increase from the 574,000 visitors recorded in 2024.
The longer comparison is also notable. The estimated pre-pandemic peak was 575,000 visitors in 2018. Estimated 2025 visitation was 27.6% above 2019 visitation. These comparisons use the measurement periods and estimates reported by the Yukon tourism indicators source; they should not be read as a new independent reconstruction of historical visitor totals.
| Visitor measure | Period | Reported figure |
|---|---|---|
| Estimated visitors | 2018 | 575,000 |
| Estimated visitors | 2024 | 574,000 |
| Estimated visitors | 2025 | 690,300 |
| Change from 2024 | 2025 vs. 2024 | 20.3% increase |
| Change from 2019 | 2025 vs. 2019 | 27.6% above |
The partial-year picture had already shown a strong recovery. Yukon received 319,000 visitors from January through July 2024, according to the Interim Fiscal and Economic Update | October 2024. January-to-July visitation was 14% higher than in the same period of 2023. The same 319,000 visitors were reported for January through July 2019, making the 2024 total equal to that earlier same-period count.
For trip planning, these figures describe total visitation rather than a promise of evenly distributed demand. The annual estimate and the January-to-July count cover different periods, and neither identifies how many visitors stayed overnight, where they traveled, or how long they remained in the territory.
Air arrivals and airport patterns
Air travel provides a more specific view of access through Whitehorse. Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport recorded 50,380 air arrivals in the first quarter of 2024, or January through March. The Yukon Tourism Visitation Report Jan-Mar 2024 reported that Q1 arrivals increased 32% from Q1 2023 and were 82% above the 2019–2023 five-year average.
Across the first seven months of 2024, Whitehorse airport recorded 128,625 arrivals. That exceeded the previous same-period high of 120,347 arrivals in 2019. For the full year 2019, the airport recorded 206,177 arrivals, according to the Air arrivals by month and year CSV.
The monthly 2019 figures illustrate how airport activity varied within a year. Whitehorse recorded 13,949 arrivals in January 2019 and 24,165 in July 2019. Those are airport arrival counts, not total Yukon visitor counts, so they represent one travel channel and one location.
The available 2024 data therefore points to a strong start and a record-setting January-to-July comparison against 2019. It does not establish a full-year 2024 airport total in the figures listed here. Travelers comparing seasons should keep that difference between year-to-date and full-year measures in mind.
International border crossings
International crossings into Yukon also rose in early 2024. There were 11,244 international border crossings in Q1 2024, up 24% from Q1 2023, when the reported total was 9,040. Q1 2024 crossings were 45% above the 2019–2023 five-year average. These results come from the Yukon Tourism Visitation Report Jan-Mar 2024.
Same-day crossings followed a different short-term pattern. Yukon recorded 2,490 same-day international crossings in Q1 2024, compared with 2,537 in Q1 2023. That was a 2% decline year over year, even though Q1 2024 same-day crossings remained 36% above the 2019–2023 five-year average.
| Border measure | Q1 2023 | Q1 2024 | Reported comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| All international crossings | 9,040 | 11,244 | 24% higher |
| Same-day international crossings | 2,537 | 2,490 | 2% lower |
| Q1 2024 versus 2019–2023 average | — | — | 45% higher overall; 36% higher same-day |
The distinction matters when interpreting the border numbers. All international crossings and same-day crossings are separate measures, and the report gives different comparisons for each. A rise above the multi-year average can coexist with a small decline from the immediately preceding year.
Road travel and American vehicles
Road travel is especially visible in the number of American-plated automobiles entering Yukon. Statistics Canada reported 45,700 such automobiles from April through September 2024 in Tourism in the territories: Visits, expenditures, and getting around. From October 2023 through March 2024, the corresponding total was 9,200.
The daily averages show a pronounced warm-season pattern:
- April 2024: 79.8 American-plated automobiles per day.
- May 2024: 174.6 per day.
- June 2024: 309.2 per day.
- July 2024: 341.0 per day.
- August 2024: 308.7 per day.
- September 2024: 282.1 per day.
July had the highest listed daily average at 341.0 vehicles. April had the lowest among the April-to-September figures at 79.8. These are vehicle-entry measures, not counts of individual travelers; a vehicle may carry more than one person, and the data does not provide an equivalent passenger total here.
For itinerary planning, the pattern identifies the April-to-September period as the stronger road-travel window in the reported observations. It does not by itself measure road congestion, campground availability, or the number of nights visitors spend in Yukon.
Hotel rates and seasonal costs
Average daily hotel room rates varied considerably across the reported months. The Average daily hotel room room rate by year and month (CBRE data) recorded a Yukon average daily rate of $157.20 in January 2024, $160.50 in February, and $166.50 in March.
Rates moved higher in the late spring and summer observations: $204.30 in May 2024, $215.00 in June, and $212.80 in August. The reported December 2024 average was $155.90. A later August observation was $233.90 in August 2025.
| Month or comparison | Average daily hotel room rate |
|---|---|
| January 2024 | $157.20 |
| February 2024 | $160.50 |
| March 2024 | $166.50 |
| May 2024 | $204.30 |
| June 2024 | $215.00 |
| August 2024 | $212.80 |
| December 2024 | $155.90 |
| August 2025 | $233.90 |
The highest figure listed is August 2025 at $233.90, while the lowest is December 2024 at $155.90. These are average daily room rates from the cited CBRE data, not guaranteed prices for a particular property, booking date, room type, tax treatment, or community. They are useful as a seasonal cost indicator, not as a quote.
Tourism spending and economic contribution
Yukon businesses attributed $400.7 million in gross revenue to tourism in 2022, according to Tourism revenue and GDP by year CSV. Retail trade accounted for $150.6 million of that tourism-attributable gross revenue. Accommodation and food services accounted for $102.1 million, while transportation and warehousing accounted for $51.3 million.
The same source reported $156.7 million in Yukon tourism-attributable GDP in 2022. Accommodation and food services contributed $53.0 million, retail trade contributed $28.4 million, and transportation and warehousing contributed $24.6 million.
| Sector | Tourism-attributable gross revenue, 2022 | Tourism-attributable GDP, 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | $150.6 million | $28.4 million |
| Accommodation and food services | $102.1 million | $53.0 million |
| Transportation and warehousing | $51.3 million | $24.6 million |
| Total Yukon tourism measure | $400.7 million | $156.7 million |
Gross revenue and GDP are different economic measures. The revenue figures describe tourism-attributable business revenue, while GDP measures the reported contribution to economic output. The sector rows should therefore be compared within their respective columns rather than combined into a single spending total.
Occupancy and tourism employment
The selected fixed-roof accommodation sample recorded 46.2% occupancy in January 2024, 59.9% in February, and 63.6% in March. April occupancy was 49.6%, and May occupancy was 58.2%, according to Hotel occupancy rate by year and month (CBRE data). The same source recorded 89.4% occupancy in August 2023.
| Accommodation observation | Occupancy |
|---|---|
| January 2024 | 46.2% |
| February 2024 | 59.9% |
| March 2024 | 63.6% |
| April 2024 | 49.6% |
| May 2024 | 58.2% |
| August 2023 | 89.4% |
Because the sample is described as selected fixed-roof accommodation, these percentages are not a territory-wide claim about every lodging type. The August 2023 observation is also from a different year than the January-to-May 2024 observations, so it should not be presented as a direct 2024 comparison.
Employment data provides a final view of the sector’s operating scale. Accommodation and food services employment in Yukon was 1,898 people in January 2024 and 1,802 people in January 2025, according to Employment in the accommodation and food services industry by year and month CSV. Those figures refer to the accommodation and food services industry and the specified January measurements; they are not a complete count of every job supported by tourism across all sectors.