Overnight Data: Nights, Trips & Nights per Trip
When looking at overnight visitors (40KM+) there are various measurements that we can rank the data by: the number of nights, number of trips, number of nights per trip, number of visitors, and number of nights per visitor – these are the measurements available with our newest Visitor Research Program (VRP) tool for municipalities.
- Nights = The number of overnights spent in the region* from visitors
- Trips = The number of overnight trips taken in the region*
- Nights per Trip = Average length of stay per trip (# of Nights divided by # of Trips)
- Visitors = The number of unique visitors who travelled 40KM+ and spent the night in the region*
- Nights per Visitor = Average length of stay per visitor (# of Nights divided by # of Visitors)
*Region – Though we are focusing on CCT regional data here, overnight data is available for your municipality through our VRP.
This month, we will focus on ranking the data by Nights, Trips, and Nights per Trip of where our overnight visitors are coming from to ensure that we market to the right geographics, and observe any year-over-year trends. Each measurement is important, and tells a different story.
So, which of these measures is the most important? Well, it depends. Nights tell us who stays the longest in our region; trips tell us who frequently visits and revisit our region; and Nights per Trip ranks those who stay longer on their overnight trips into our region. Ideally, it would be great if these markets would to be the same, but that is not always the case, and all complement the entire story.
We will first look at total counts of all Domestic & USA overnight visitors travelling 40KM+ into the region; followed by Province; and then ranking of Top-10 Domestic Municipalities.
Please note: The counts include visitors who travel 40KM+ and spend the night in any form of overnight accommodation (E.g., Hotel/Motel, Short-Term Rental, Visiting Friends/Relatives, Cottage, Campground) within our region.
2025 Overview: National
Overall, 2025 was a great year for overnight visitation into our region. Total nights went up by 4% vs 2024 (to 20.2M) and total trips grew by 17% vs 2024 (to 11.7M).
But when we look at Canada vs USA, their behaviours are very different – of course proximity, exchange rate and politics play a key role in these differences.
The Canadian Market: Lots of Nights & Trips, but Shorter Stays
In 2025, Canadians made up 86% of all nights and 95% of all trips into the region. Their number of Nights grew by 8% and frequency of trips exploded by a strong 23%; however, Canadians shortened their length of stay—dropping to 1.57 nights on average (a decrease of 11.58% vs 2024). This shows that Canadians are taking more trips, but they’re average length of stay are shorter.
The USA Market: Fewer Nights & Trips, but Longer Stays
The USA market fell by 15% in both nights and trips in 2025 vs 2024. Even with fewer visitors, Americans are still highest‑value guests because they stay much longer—4.57 nights per trip, almost three times longer than Canadians. Their average length of stay didn’t change from 2024, even though the total number of visitors dropped; despite the exchange rate in their favour, politics likely played a role.
2025 Overview: Provincial
Really no surprises here, Ontario contributes to 85-88% of all Nights and 90-92% of all overnight Trips into our region. Ranked second is Quebec; followed by BC, Alberta and Manitoba. Nights per Trip is mostly ranked from those travelling further away; Ontario being the shortest.
2025 Overview: Municipal
Based on the 2025 municipality numbers, our region’s overnight visitors are coming more often, but they are not staying as long. Many cities in Ontario are seeing record numbers of trips, but every single city is seeing shorter stays than before.
Market Performance Summary
1. Fast-Growing Local Markets
These cities are growing quickly, showing more frequent year-over-year trips from nearby markets, but staying shorter:
- Toronto: Biggest market by volume — trips up 24%, nights up 12%.
- Barrie: Biggest YoY growth — trips up 44%, nights up 34%.
- Peterborough, Oakville & Mississauga: Also, strong YoY growth — trips up 41%, 39%, & 34%, respectively (Mississauga is the second biggest market by volume).
2. Strong 2025 YoY Growth, Especially Trips
Our Top-10 markets, particularly Trips, have grown an average of +30% (excluding Ottawa and Montréal), indicating an interest in making more overnight trips. This is great news, and shows our region is their destination of choice in 2025. However, this exceptional strong YoY growth is limited to 2025 vs 2024; previous YoY average of the same markets declined by -1%. Possible reasoning for the strong increase in growth for 2025 is higher cost of living, inflation, and global politics impacting the surge in desire to make more closer trips and shorter stays. It will be interesting to see if this is a trend for the next few years or a moment in time.
3. Shorter Stay Trend
A major trend in 2025: every single city saw shorter average stays.
- Toronto visitors are staying 10% fewer Nights per Trip (now 1.45 nights on average).
- Mississauga and Hamilton had the biggest drops — stays down 13%.
- Even longer‑stay markets like Montréal and Ottawa (around 2.1 nights) are also shrinking.
- Nights per Trip: The average YoY for 2022 – 2024 experienced a decrease of 2.2% in their length of stay; however the YoY for 2025 vs 2024 decreased by 9.6%. Suggesting a shift to more trips but shorter stays than in previous years.
Possible Recommendations
1. Create “Micro-Stay” Packages
Our major markets average 1.56 Nights per Trip; by creating “Micro-Stay” packages for Barrie and GTHA visitors to allow them to make the most of a short 24–36 hour visit — E.g., activity packages to increase their visitor spend and suggest things to do on their next trip.
2. Long Weekend Promotions for Longer-Stay Markets (Montréal & Ottawa)
Guest from farther away stay over 2 nights, making them more valuable domestic customers. Offer deals like “Stay 3, Pay 2” to encourage longer bookings and fill mid‑week gaps.
3. Increase Digital Marketing Spend in Specific Areas for Last-Minute Trips & Packages
Highlighting easy, last-minute getaways will match the current pattern of short-stay, frequent trips, especially for cities like Barrie and Peterborough that experience biggest booms in the number of Trips 2025 vs 2024.
Though the number of Trips increased in 2025, their length of stay averaged at 1.6 nights, which limits their time to explore the area in person. Marketing to them earlier provides a greater opportunity to expose our diverse region during their booking process.
In the next issue, we will look at the other overnight measurements: number of visitors and number of nights per visitor. In the meantime, if you have any questions or are interested in Visitor Research, please connect with Tom.
