High-speed rail could boost tourism in Toronto-Québec City corridor: study

A new study prepared by CPCS on behalf of Alto says Canada’s proposed high-speed rail service could significantly increase tourism across the Toronto-Québec City corridor.

According to the study, the corridor is already a major tourism driver in Canada, attracting more than 20 per cent of domestic visitors and over 40 per cent of international tourists. 

It also generates more than $31 billion in annual visitor spending.

Alto, a Crown corporation dedicated to building the high-speed rail network, said the proposed service would strengthen connections between Toronto, Ottawa-Gatineau, Montréal and Québec City, creating new tourism opportunities and increasing visitor activity across the corridor.

The study assessed different scenarios based on the level of coordination between the tourism sector and high-speed rail.

Under a medium coordination scenario, increased tourism spending along the Alto corridor could boost Canada’s annual GDP by approximately $1 billion and support more than 11,500 jobs across the corridor.

The study says tourism in the corridor is currently heavily dependent on personal vehicles, which account for up to 85 to 98 per cent of domestic travel.

Alto said high-speed rail would offer travellers a faster and more efficient alternative, making it easier for Canadians to travel more often and visit multiple destinations in one trip.

The study also points to international examples showing that high-speed rail can increase tourism activity when it improves access and is supported by destination coordination.

In France, for example, high-speed rail helped support Lyon’s growth as a tourism destination alongside active promotion, according to the study.

Alto said coordinated action across destinations could help expand tourism beyond major urban centres and allow more communities to benefit from increased visitor activity.

"Alto will transform how people travel across the corridor – making travel faster, easier and more connected. This study confirms the scale of this opportunity for the tourism industry," said Laurent Therrien, vice president, strategy and development at Alto.

"By improving connectivity between cities, Alto will unlock new travel patterns, enabling both local and international visitors to move more freely and more often, and positioning the corridor to capture sustained growth in tourism and its associated economic benefits"

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