Travel on Airbnb generated $10B in economic impact across Canada in 2023

In 2023, Airbnb guests travelled to more than 100,000 destinations around the world, making it the most dispersed year of travel ever on the platform. In Canada, more than 1,700 cities and towns welcomed guests – another record – demonstrating that travel on Airbnb continues to be a popular way for people to experience Canadian destinations from coast-to coast-to coast. Airbnb helps support travel that is good for Canadian Hosts, guests and communities across the country that want to benefit from tourism:

• Hosts keep the vast majority of what they charge for their listing and help keep that money in their local communities.
• Listings are located in a wide range of neighbourhoods including many that historically have not reaped the economic benefits from tourism. 
• Guests can use Airbnb to find affordable accommodation options, often with more amenities than hotels offer, and stay in neighbourhoods where their spending helps support local restaurants and small businesses.

With home sharing bringing a net benefit to communities, we’re proud to share a newly released economic analysis which estimates that travel on Airbnb generated more than $10 billion in economic impact across Canada in 2023^{1, 2}. The analysis finds that for every $100 spent on an Airbnb stay, guests spent about $283 on other goods and services such as local businesses, restaurants, attractions, shops, and more. This economic activity helps to create an additional income stream for Canadian hosts, fuels visitor spending in communities, supports jobs across multiple industries, and contributes substantial tax revenue for governments. 

The report uses insights from IMPLAN Cloud, a software that combines data and analytics, to better understand how home sharing supports economic activity in communities. The analysis looked at direct spending from Airbnb guests, as well as the indirect and induced effects from visitor spending in 2023.

Travel on Airbnb supported nearly 110,000 jobs

In 2023, 86 percent of Canadian Hosts reported that they offered ​​recommendations like restaurants, shops, and other local attractions located in their neighbourhoods to guests³. By welcoming guests who then patronize local businesses, Hosts on Airbnb helped support nearly 110,000 jobs in Canada last year across multiple sectors, including restaurants, arts and entertainment, retail, and more. These jobs generated an estimated $6.2 billion in income for Canadian workers in food services and accommodation, arts and entertainment, retail, transportation and other key industries across the country⁴, and with many Airbnb listings located in areas without hotels, this income benefits people in communities outside traditional tourism hubs. 

Guests on Airbnb in Canada generated $10.4 billion in local spending 

In 2023, guests in Canada reported that they spent an estimated $243 per day during their trip with approximately 40 percent of their spending in the neighbourhood of their listing⁵. In total, guests who travelled on Airbnb across Canada generated more than $10.4 billion in visitor spending last year by supporting local small businesses, restaurants, transportation services and other establishments. 

Guest spending also generated more than $7.6 billion in taxes, including approximately $319 million in related taxes collected and remitted by Airbnb on behalf of Hosts, generating a vital source of funding for governments⁶. Since 2014, Airbnb has worked with cities and towns around the world, including Canada, to help Hosts pay their fair share of taxes at a time when governments across the country are facing rising budget deficits. 

We previously reported that travel on Airbnb reached new heights across the country with nearly 8 million domestic guest arrivals on the platform – an increase of nearly 30 percent since 2019. Canadians continue to explore their backyard in record numbers on the platform, and in doing so, bringing tourism to every corner of the country. 

Hosting can be an economic lifeline for Canadians 

Canadian Hosts often rely on the income from home sharing to help make ends meet, save for retirement, or cover the rising cost of living. Last year, the typical Canadian Host earned approximately $12,200 by welcoming visitors to their community⁷, and according to internal Airbnb survey data, this supplemental income is a lifeline for many⁸:

• 77% of Canadian Hosts say they plan to use income earned to cover the heightened cost of living.
• 52% of Canadian Hosts say the income earned has helped them stay in their homes.
• 13% of Canadian Hosts say hosting on Airbnb helped them avoid eviction or foreclosure.

Methodology

The analysis was generated using the IMPLAN calculation process to estimate the economic impact of Airbnb in Canada. For this project, the model integrates Airbnb Host earnings and guest spending, which is based on a survey of guests who booked a listing through Airbnb and stayed in Canada in 2023. The model includes direct, indirect and induced economic contribution as defined below: 

• Direct Economic Effects: refers to the immediate effects of an economic activity. In the context of tourism, direct economic impact refers to spending by tourists on goods and services such as accommodation, meals, transportation, attractions, and souvenirs. 
• Indirect Economic Effects: refers to the secondary effects generated by the initial spending in related industries that supply goods and services to the primary industry. These industries provide inputs or support services necessary for the functioning of the primary industry.
• Induced Economic Effects: refers to the tertiary effects resulting from the increased household spending by employees in the directly and indirectly affected industries. This includes the spending of wages earned by employees in restaurants and other establishments as a result of guests’ and hosts’ economic activity.
• Total Economic Contribution to GDP: This is a measure of the contribution to GDP generated by Airbnb activity as a result of direct, indirect and induced effects.
• Total Jobs Supported: Number of full-time, part-time and seasonal jobs supported by the output generated by Airbnb activity. This metric includes direct, indirect, and induced effects.
• Total Tax Revenue: This includes (i) the total $ value of taxes associated with hosts’ income and spending and the economic activity stemming from guests visiting local businesses. These taxes are not Airbnb’s liability. They include Taxes on Production & Imports (TOPI), social insurance taxes, personal taxes, and corporate profit taxes; (ii) It also includes tax revenue from hosting, which is the total $ value of taxes directly associated with hosting, as part of (net) Gross Booking Value.