A new Alto study finds that Canada’s proposed high-speed rail corridor could generate an additional $1 billion in annual GDP and support 11,500 jobs through tourism growth. Connecting Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal, Québec City and other destinations, the project could encourage longer stays, multi-destination travel, and stronger regional tourism economies.
TORONTO— A new study commissioned by Alto, Canada’s proposed high-speed rail project, suggests that enhanced rail connectivity between Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa-Gatineau, Montréal, Trois-Rivières, and Québec City could generate approximately $1 billion in additional annual GDP and support more than 11,500 new jobs through tourism growth alone.
The report, Alto and Tourism: Economic Impacts and Opportunitieshighlights the significant role the proposed corridor already plays in Canada’s visitor economy. Collectively, the six metropolitan regions attract more than 20 percent of domestic visitors and over 40 percent of international visitorsgenerating more than $31 billion in annual visitor spendingcontributing approximately $33.7 billion to GDPand supporting more than 377,000 jobs.
According to the study, high-speed rail has the potential to transform travel patterns across Central Canada by making it easier for visitors to explore multiple destinations during a single trip, extend their stays, and access destinations beyond major gateway cities.
More Than a Transportation Project
Tourism industry leaders say the findings reinforce the growing recognition that transportation infrastructure is a critical component of tourism development.
The report aligns closely with recommendations contained in Ontario’s tourism growth strategy, Forward motionwhich identified transportation connectivity as one of the sector’s foundational priorities. Improved interregional transportation has long been viewed as essential for encouraging multi-destination travel, dispersing visitors beyond major urban centers, and increasing visitor spending throughout regional economies.
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“The findings demonstrate that transportation infrastructure is far more than a mobility issue—it’s a tourism growth issue,” the report notes.
Visitor Patterns Reveal Untapped Opportunities
The study provides a detailed snapshot of current tourism activity along the proposed corridor.
Today, the majority of visitors are domestic travelers from Ontario and Quebec who typically arrive by personal vehicle. More than 95 percent of domestic visitors to the corridor’s metropolitan areas originate from the two provinces, and approximately 70 percent are same-day travelers.
Domestic overnight visitors typically stay between two and three nights, while travelers from elsewhere in Canada stay four to five nights. International visitors remain significantly longer. Overseas tourists generally stay more than ten days, while visitors from the United States stay between three and ten days.
International visitors also tend to spend more and are more likely to travel for business. In Toronto, work-related travel accounts for more than one-quarter of international visits, while in Quebec City business travel represents less than 10 percent of international tourism activity.
Cars Dominate, But Rail Already Shows Promise
Despite the corridor’s strong tourism performance, private vehicles remain the dominant transportation mode for domestic travelers.
Rail currently captures a relatively small share of visitor travel, although usage varies by destination. Toronto records the strongest domestic rail market, with nearly six percent of visitors arriving by train—surpassing both bus and air travel shares. Montréal ranks second, with just over two percent of domestic visitors using rail as their primary mode of transportation.
Among international visitors, air travel remains the dominant gateway into Canada, accounting for between 55 and 65 percent of arrivals to Toronto, Montréal, Ottawa-Gatineau, and Québec City. However, Montréal already demonstrates the strongest rail market among international travelers, with nearly 12 percent reporting train use during their Canadian journey.
These existing travel patterns suggest high-speed rail could provide a competitive alternative to both automobile travel and short-haul flights along one of Canada’s busiest travel corridors.
Success Depends on More Than Tracks
While the study identifies substantial economic potential, researchers caution that infrastructure investment alone will not guarantee tourism growth.
Drawing on international case studies, the report concludes that the strongest tourism outcomes occur when rail investment is accompanied by coordinated destination marketing, tourism product development, visitor experience planning, strong local transit connections, and collaboration among governments, tourism organizations, and private-sector operators.
The study emphasizes that destination readiness and corridor-wide coordination policy will ultimately determine how much tourism growth high-speed rail can generate.
Tourism Industry Looks Ahead
As planning for Alto continues, industry stakeholders are expected to play an active role in discussions surrounding station locations, route alignments, environmental considerations, local transportation integration, and community planning.
The Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO) has announced plans to continue the conversation during the Ontario Tourism Summit this October, where representatives from Alto will join tourism leaders, municipalities, and destination organizations to explore how improved connectivity can maximize tourism growth across the province.
For Canada’s tourism industry, the message from the Alto study is clear: high-speed rail represents not only a transportation investment, but potentially one of the country’s most significant tourism development opportunities in decades.
Read the report: