Torontonians and tourists alike opened their wallets slightly more than usual during the opening weekend of the Pan Am Games, according to a new analysis of credit and debit transactions.
Moneris, one of Canada’s largest credit and debit processors, looked at its data regarding consumer spending in downtown Toronto during the first weekend of the Pan Am Games and found that it increased 8.42 per cent from the same weekend in 2014 and 3.97 per cent from the previous weekend.
The company looked at data in downtown Toronto to gauge consumer spending, focusing on the area south of Bloor Street to the waterfront and between Jarvis and Bathurst Streets.
A big draw that weekend was the sold-out Opening Ceremonies which featured Canadian celebrities like Mark Messier, and Bobby Orr as well as a performance by Cirque de Soleil.
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The biggest increases in consumer spending came at hotels which were 58.47 per cent higher than the previous weekend. Restaurant spending, and money spent on entertainment were also significantly higher at 10.94 per cent and 12.29 per cent, respectively.
Tourism officials and the Greater Toronto Hotel Association (GTHA) had been banking on the last-minute traveller to spur on otherwise low levels of hotel bookings. While the number of hotel bookings won’t be known for at least another month, consumer spending with international debit or credit cards was 23.54 per cent higher year-over-year, and 6.12 per cent higher than the previous weekend.
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But when it came to dollars spent on hotel rooms, spending by foreign visitors was up 30.11 per cent from the previous weekend but still less than the amount spent by Canadians.
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