Turning Kingston’s Visitation into Local Value - 3 Priority Investments (2027–2029)
Author
Lois Triano
A destination-management analysis based on recent Tourism Kingston, City of Kingston, and Statistics Canada data
Prepared for the City of Kingston, Ontario
Prepared as an independent discussion and policy document
The Opportunity
Kingston already has a strong tourism economy. Tourism Kingston reported 2.8 million visitors, $566 million in visitor spending, 629,500 room nights, and $872 million in estimated economic impact in 2025. At the same time, only 46% of visitors stayed overnight, meaning most visitors were day visitors (Tourism Kingston, 2026a).
The opportunity is not simply to attract more people. It is to increase the value of the visitation Kingston already attracts by converting more day visits into overnight stays, strengthening demand during weaker periods, and ensuring tourism-related investment improves Kingston for residents as well as visitors.
Statistics Canada provides a useful national benchmark. In Q1 2025, Canadian residents spent an average of $108 per same-day domestic visit compared with $425 per overnight visit; overnight visits averaged 2.7 nights (Statistics Canada, 2025). This is national data, not a Kingston forecast, but it clearly illustrates the economic difference between the two types of visitation.
Kingston already has the foundation for this approach. Tourism Kingston's overnight packaging program is producing measurable room nights; its sport and business-event portfolios are generating substantial economic activity; and the City's approved Integrated Destination Strategy places Kingston residents at the heart of tourism and identifies infrastructure investment and optimization as a strategic pillar (Tourism Kingston, 2026a, 2026b).
1. Make Overnight Conversion a Year-Round Tourism Priority
What the data shows
Tourism Kingston's packaging program generated 103 overnight packages, 820 room nights, and approximately $1.6 million in estimated economic impact in 2024. In 2025, it generated 162 packages, 1,389 room nights, and $1.85 million in estimated economic impact (Tourism Kingston, 2025; Tourism Kingston, 2026a).
This is a working program, not a theoretical opportunity. The next step is to make overnight conversion a destination-management objective and extend it beyond peak-season promotion.
Recommendation
Beginning with the 2027 planning cycle, establish measurable overnight-conversion targets, with particular emphasis on November through April. The program should:
Expand packages beyond peak summer demand.
Bundle accommodation with dining, culture, recreation, wellness, and other local experiences.
Make packages easy to purchase rather than simply promoting itineraries.
Track actual room nights generated.
Report results alongside the overall visitor mix and resident-benefit measures.
Proposed 2027–2029 measures
| Measure | Latest baseline | 2029 target |
|---|---|---|
| Overnight visitor share | 46% | 50%+ |
| Overnight packages | 162 | 250+ annually |
| Room nights from packaging | 1,389 | 2,500+ annually |
| Package economic impact | $1.85M | $3M+ annually |
| November–April package room nights | Establish 2026 baseline | +30% |
A four-point shift in Kingston's 2025 visitor mix would represent roughly 112,000 additional visits shifting from same-day to overnight. Using the Statistics Canada national spending differential only as an illustrative benchmark, this indicates a substantial economic opportunity; it is not a Kingston-specific spending forecast (Statistics Canada, 2025).
2. Build a Shoulder-Season Event Strategy Around Measurable Return
What the data shows
In 2025, Tourism Kingston supported 117 Sport & Wellness events, generating 55,493 contracted room nights and $44.8 million in estimated economic impact. Its Business Events portfolio hosted 47 events, generating 8,227 contracted room nights and $4.5 million in estimated economic impact (Tourism Kingston, 2026a).
The opportunity is to use that existing strength more deliberately to address seasonality. Events can create a specific reason to travel when leisure demand is weaker.
Recommendation
For 2027–2029, establish a shoulder-season event acquisition strategy, with a particular focus on November through April. Major event opportunities supported by the City or Tourism Kingston should be assessed using consistent measures of projected out-of-town attendance, room nights, economic impact, timing, resource requirements, repeat-event potential, and community benefit.
Sport Tourism Canada provides STEAM, a predictive model for estimating the economic impact of a proposed sport event in a specific Canadian location. It also provides STEAMPRO for detailed post-event assessment and FESTPRO for non-sport events. These are established tools that can support more consistent event evaluation (Sport Tourism Canada, 2026).
Proposed 2027–2029 measures
| Measure | Baseline | 2029 target |
|---|---|---|
| Shoulder-season room nights from supported events | Establish 2026 baseline | +20% |
| Major event opportunities using standardized economic screening | Establish baseline | 100% |
| Future events booked for shoulder season | Establish baseline | +20% |
| Combined Sport & Business Events economic impact | 2025: $49.3M | Continue growth while improving seasonality |
3. Connect Tourism Investment to City Infrastructure
What the data shows
Kingston already has a Municipal Accommodation Tax. The City states that the 5% MAT is used to support destination marketing, sales, product development, and longer-term destination-development initiatives intended to enhance the visitor experience (City of Kingston, 2026).
Tourism Kingston's 2025 Annual Report makes the resident connection explicit: it states that continued investment in community infrastructure delivers meaningful benefits for both residents and the visitor economy. The report cites the Cricket Field renovations as an example and identifies the downtown conference centre as another priority infrastructure project (Tourism Kingston, 2026a).
The City's approved Integrated Destination Strategy reinforces this direction. Its guiding principles include placing Kingston residents at the heart of tourism, and one of its five pillars is infrastructure investment and optimization (Tourism Kingston, 2026b).
Recommendation
Beginning with the 2027 budget cycle, strengthen the connection between existing tourism-development resources, Tourism Kingston's destination priorities, and the City's broader capital-planning process.
Publish an annual list of priority tourism-related capital needs.
Assess projects for both visitor-economy value and resident benefit.
Make the relationship between tourism-development resources and those priorities transparent.
Include Tourism Kingston, City capital planning, and relevant municipal departments in prioritization.
Report publicly on what was funded, delivered, and achieved.
Potential priority areas include waterfront and public-realm improvements, wayfinding, accessibility, pedestrian and cycling connections, public washrooms and visitor amenities, event-supporting infrastructure, transportation and parking solutions, and conference or meeting infrastructure. The test should be whether an investment improves the visitor experience while also improving Kingston as a place to live.
Why The 3 Priorities?
Kingston already has a comprehensive tourism strategy. The City and Tourism Kingston do not need another list of ideas. The opportunity is to focus on three areas where the evidence already shows traction.
Overnight packaging is generating measurable room nights and economic impact. Events are generating tens of thousands of contracted room nights and substantial estimated economic impact. And the City's own strategy now explicitly connects tourism with residents, infrastructure, and shared value (Tourism Kingston, 2026a, 2026b).
The strongest case is therefore not simply that Kingston should invest more in tourism. It is that Kingston should get more value from the tourism activity it already has while ensuring tourism-related investment improves the city for residents as well as visitors.
The goal should not simply be more visitors. It should be more overnight stays, more spending per visitor, stronger shoulder-season demand, and infrastructure that works for visitors and the people who live in Kingston year-round.
Recommended Actions
Establish 2027–2029 overnight-conversion targets and report annually on room nights generated, package performance, and the overnight/day-visitor mix.
Develop a shoulder-season event acquisition framework using consistent economic and community-benefit assessment.
Strengthen the connection between existing tourism-development resources, destination priorities, and municipal capital planning.
Assess tourism investments for both economic/visitor impact and resident benefit.
References:
City of Kingston. (2026). Municipal accommodation tax. (https://www.cityofkingston.ca/business-in-kingston/municipal-accommodation-tax/)
Sport Tourism Canada. (2026). Economic impact. (https://www.sporttourismcanada.com/economic-impact/)
Statistics Canada. (2025, August 25). National Travel Survey and Visitor Travel Survey, first quarter 2025. (https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/250825/dq250825b-eng.htm)
Tourism Kingston. (2025). 2024 annual report. (https://www.visitkingston.ca/media/documents/About/Mission-and-Strategies/2024-Annual-Report.pdf)
Tourism Kingston. (2026a). 2025 annual report: A city in motion. (https://www.visitkingston.ca/media/images/2025-AnnualReport.pdf)
Tourism Kingston. (2026b). Integrated Destination Strategy 3.0.( https://www.visitkingston.ca/media/documents/mission-strategies/IntegratedDestinationStrategy_2025.pdf)
