Nunavut visitor trips fell 8.8% as third-quarter spending reached $46.1M
Statistics Canada says non-Nunavut residents made an estimated 22,800 trips to Nunavut from July through September 2025, down 8.8% from a year earlier, while visitor spending rose 4.5% to $46.1 million. The release is the newest Nunavut-specific tourism item on Statistics Canada’s current Nunavut profile, but it reports historical 2025 survey results released July 8, 2026. Source↗
What happened
Commercial-air trips fell 18.6% to 15,800, while cruise trips rose 25.0% to 7,000. Statistics Canada attributes the overall trip decline mainly to a 19.2% decrease in business travellers arriving by commercial air. Canadian-resident trips fell 17.1% to 16,000, while trips by U.S. visitors rose 27.6% to 3,700 and overseas trips rose 6.9% to 3,100. Source↗
Why it matters
Despite fewer visitors, spending rose as commercial-air travellers stayed longer on average: 15.5 nights, compared with 12.7 nights a year earlier. Accommodations accounted for $31.9 million, or 69.2% of all reported spending, and food and beverages accounted for $8.3 million. Commercial-air business travellers accounted for $38.0 million of total spending, showing the continued importance of work-related travel to Nunavut’s visitor economy. Source↗
What happens next
Statistics Canada says third-quarter 2026 results from the Nunavut Air Exit Survey and Nunavut Cruise Exit Survey are scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2027. The figures are not a forecast for the 2026 tourism season. Source↗
Important details
The estimates cover visitors whose usual residence was outside Nunavut. The air survey collects responses at Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet and Cambridge Bay airports; the cruise survey covers port calls at Pond Inlet, Iqaluit and Cambridge Bay. Statistics Canada reports the amounts in current dollars and says the data are not seasonally adjusted. Supporting tables provide the underlying visit, night and expenditure data. Source↗ Source↗
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