Nearly one million visitors stayed overnight in Barrie in 2025, setting a record for the city and generating more than $212 million in economic activity.
Tourism figures were presented during a general committee meeting on Jan. 21 by Coun. Gary Harvey.
According to Tourism Barrie, 662,062 visitors stayed in local hotels last year, while 336,137 stayed in Airbnbs or with friends and family, for a total of 998,199 overnight visitors — up from about 631,000 overnight visitors in 2024.
Hotel occupancy averaged 70.4 per cent in 2025 and climbed to 90 per cent during the holiday season.
Harvey, who sits on Tourism Barrie’s board, said the numbers exceeded expectations.
“When you look at the entire economic impact, it’s $212,432,270, which are crazy numbers once I saw that,” he said.
“A tremendous year, and obviously Tourism Barrie looks forward to another strong year. We’ve been trying to maximize opportunities and recognize that sport tourism is a significant attraction to our area.”
Visitors staying in hotels generated $148.3 million, while $64.1 million came from Airbnbs and visits with local friends and family.
The surge in visitors is also driving new hotel development. Barrie currently has 1,125 hotel rooms, with three new hotels under construction and expected to open in late 2026, adding 301 rooms.
Those projects include Home2Suites by Hilton, Holiday Inn Express and TownePlace Suites by Marriott.
Other hotel proposals include a hotel at the Park Place open-air shopping centre and two potential hotel developments on Bradford Street.
Barrie’s municipal accommodation tax (MAT), which applies to hotel, motel and short-term rental stays, reached $1.55 million by the third quarter of 2025. It is projected to exceed $2 million by year’s end.
Mayor Alex Nuttall said half of MAT revenue goes to the city, with the other half going to Tourism Barrie.
