Montreal Tourism Hits Record-Breaking Highs This Summer

Montreal is on track for a record-breaking summer tourism season driven by a surge in business events, sports competitions, and music festivals, according to data from non-profit organization Tourisme Montréal. Visitor traffic from May to July showed significant gains across domestic and international markets, bolstered by major gatherings such as the international jazz festival and the Osheaga music festival.

According to Tourisme Montréal, travel from the United States increased by seven percent during the May to July period compared to the same timeframe last year. Travel from other parts of Canada rose by five percent, while international arrivals grew by nearly five percent. Hotel occupancy reached 82 percent over those three months, marking a seven percent increase from 2025. Yves Lalumière, president and CEO of Tourisme Montréal, attributed the figures to the city’s diverse appeal. “We say Toronto is the downtown of Canada, (but) Montreal is the playground of Canada. People come here to have fun,” Lalumière told CTV News.

Festivals and Business Events Drive Visitor Traffic

The summer calendar featured high-attendance editions of prominent cultural events, including the city’s international jazz festival and Osheaga. Alongside festival crowds, the city hosted a booming convention sector that drew more than 50,000 conference attendees across June and July. Old Montreal saw heavy pedestrian traffic as visitors packed cobblestone streets to patronize local shops and photograph historic landmarks like the Notre-Dame Basilica. Sana Srivastava, who works at a family-owned souvenir shop in Old Montreal, noted that businesses benefited from sustained tourist interest throughout the season. “I feel people have really been wanting to go to Canada more than ever this summer, so that’s been really good for us, and we’re so grateful,” Srivastava told CTV News.

Impact of Global Sporting Events and Strategic Scheduling

Unscheduled sports tourism also provided an unexpected lift to local merchants. Srivastava observed that visitors wearing jerseys from various national teams arrived in Montreal despite the city not serving as a host site for the World Cup. According to Lalumière, bypassing official World Cup hosting duties proved beneficial by preventing the impact the competition would have had on other events. Looking ahead, Tourisme Montréal expects the tourism momentum to extend into August and September, supported by upcoming events including the National Bank Open tennis tournament and the Lasso country music festival.