Nunavut saw fewer visitors but more money spent in the territory between July and September 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, Statistics Canada data shows. There were 22,800 out-of-territory visitors to Nunavut during the three-month stretch last year, well down from the 25,000 tourists that visited during the summer of 2024.
Despite the downturn in the number of visitors, tourists still spent $46 million on their 2025 trips. That’s up from $44 million spent by travellers from July to September 2024.
Increased spending is enough reason for optimism, according to Alex Stubbing, president and CEO of industry association Travel Nunavut.
“The travel industry is in a really good place. Our latest economic impact assessment showed Nunavut’s travel sector continues to grow and makes a major contribution to the territory’s economy through jobs, GDP, labour income and tax revenues,” Stubbing said.
Employment in the tourism sector grew by 2.2 per cent to 6,460 direct and indirect jobs, with the total income of those employees adding up $342.6 million. That would work out to $53,000 per employee, if divided equally.
“While visitor surveys can show year-to-year changes in specific markets, the broader industry picture remains very positive,” Stubbing said.
Fewer tourists to Nunavut is likely because of higher cost of living pressures, according to Destination Nunavut, the territorial government’s tourism arm.
The downturn in tourist numbers appears to come from non-Nunavummiut Canadians on business trips arriving by plane.
Tourist arrivals by plane in the summer of 2025 amounted to 15,800, down from 19,400 in 2024.
There were 16,000 Canadians from outside of Nunavut who visited the territory during the three months in 2025, down from 19,300 during same period in 2024.
Similarly, business trips fell to 11,800 during the summer of 2025 compared to 14,600 in the summer prior.
The higher spending and lower number of visitors are directly linked, according to Destination Nunavut.
“While business travellers usually have major expenses like flights and hotels billed directly to their employers, leisure travellers pay for everything out of pocket – resulting in higher reported spending per visitor,” said Kira Dorward, manager of communications at the GN’s Department of Community Services.
“Since the survey is seasonal and, in the summer, it does not yet capture the full scope of annual business travel, which has a significant economic impact.”
Budgets cuts at southern companies have curtailed business travel, industry associations told Destination Nunavut.
Statistics Canada’s Nunavut Air Exit Survey and Nunavut Cruise Exit Survey were paused in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and only restarted in 2024.
Some aspects of tourism to Nunavut did see an increase, however. International visitors on personal trips taking cruises saw a modest rise. Tourists arriving by cruise ship increased to 7,000 in the summer of 2025, up from 5,600 in 2024.
Personal visits climbed to 11,000 last summer, slightly above the 10,500 seen during the three months the year before.
U.S. visitors rose to 3,700 during the summer of 2025, well up from the 2,900 American tourists from July to September in 2024.
Tourists from outside Canada and the U.S. increased to 3,100 last summer, which was just above the 2,900 international visitors who arrived in during the stretch in 2024.
The weaker Canadian dollar is likely attracting more U.S. and international tourists, Dorward said.
A longer cruise ship season due to increasing temperatures globally is also helping Arctic travel, according to Destination Nunavut.
“Global geopolitical situations have led to some tourists opting for Canada, including Nunavut. This includes Americans, who we have also seen an increase in numbers,” Dorward said.
Visitor centres in Nunavut this year have already seen a increase in traffic, according to Dorward.
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