In the News

The Toronto tourism industry set a record in 2007 with more than 10.6 million overnight visitors.

Toronto Tourism president David Whitaker says the city showed resilience despite challenges, such as new passport rules and the rising dollar.

He says visitors to the city spent more than $4.5 billion on hotels, restaurants, attractions and shopping.

The greatest number of overseas visitors – about 280,000 – were from the United Kingdom, while Mexico and China were the fastest-growing international markets at about 15 per cent growth each.

Whitaker also says hotel occupancy in 2007 across the Toronto region rose to 68.3 per cent, its highest level since 2000.

The Toronto tourism industry, which took a severe hit during the SARS outbreak in 2003, supports nearly 100,000 jobs.