Nearly half of Philadelphia’s international visitors in 2024 were Canadian. Far fewer may come this year

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The Philadelphia hotel industry posted solid gains last year and entered 2025 with strong momentum. But there’s major headwind expected among international travelers, who are more likely to stay longer than their domestic counterparts.

Overall, Philadelphia had 26.6 million visitors in 2024, with overnight visitors increasing 4% over the year. Visitors spent $4.5 billion in 2024, a new record.

Hotels in the city saw higher occupancy, room rates and revenue compared to 2023, according to the annual tourism report from Visit Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Philadelphia hotels generated $769 million in 2024, up from $724 million in 2023. Hotel revenue and room rates have steadily increased since record lows during the COVID-19 pandemic five years ago.

The average daily rate, or what hotels charge customers, hit $214 in 2024, down slightly from last year.

While the revenue available per room — the average daily rate multiplied by the occupancy rate — was $143 per available room, compared to $135 in 2023.

Philadelphia hotel occupancy did improve from 63% in 2023 to 67% in 2024. But it has not outpaced pre-pandemic levels, in part, because the industry is bigger with more hotel rooms than in 2019, said Gregg Caren, president and CEO of the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau.

He said about five new hotels with about 2,000 more rooms were added in the past five years.

“We have more rooms to sell, which is great during big events, whether it’s the World Cup or a big citywide convention,” Caren said.

In 2024, 1.2 million international tourists visited the city and spent about $679 million, up from $579 million in 2023.

On average, international travelers spent $572 per trip and visited for five days in 2024, while domestic travelers spent $167 and visited for two days.

That means it’s a big deal that 12% fewer international travelers are expected to visit Philadelphia this year, according to estimates by Tourism Economics shared by the visitors bureau.

By far, Canadians were most likely to visit the city, as 535,100 did last year, a 2% increase compared to 2023.

About 22% fewer Canadians are expected to visit this year, due to geopolitical issues like Donald Trump’s trade war and changing immigration policies.

“We need to navigate through these headwinds right now,” Caren said. “If Canadian business is down, we’ll hopefully pump [tourism] from other countries or from domestic leisure travelers or from more people coming here for conventions.”

Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau brought 542,202 visitors to the city from conventions, meetings and sports. Those attendees spent about $410 million and generated an estimated economic impact of $636 million across the city.

As the city prepares to host many international visitors in 2026, it’s unclear whether the expected downturn in tourism may continue. Caren said he’s most focused on making sure that the rest of 2026 is fully booked with conventions and meetings to keep the flow of travelers steady all year.

Capturing the attention and interest of travelers who visit Philadelphia at least once is key, he said.

That’s because about 79% of leisure travelers return to Philadelphia after one visit – about 27% higher than the national average, according to Longwoods International and Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau research.