Kelowna’s tourism industry closed out 2025 on a strong and resilient note, with year-over-year gains in accommodation performance and air access continuing through the fourth quarter, even as visitor spending softened. Results from October through December reflect the destination’s growing strength beyond the peak summer season and highlight Kelowna's continued evolution into a four-season tourism economy.
Fourth-quarter performance reinforces how shoulder-season travel is playing an increasingly important role in supporting year-end results and overall destination balance.
Hotel Performance Ends the Year Ahead of 2024
Hotel performance exceeded 2024 levels in each month of Q4, supported by modest year-over-year gains in both occupancy and average daily rate. October delivered the strongest year-over-year results, reflecting solid fall demand, while November softened but remained above last year’s benchmarks. December recorded a modest year-over-year rebound, signalling stable demand extending into the early winter period.
Together, these results capped a strong year for the hotel sector and underscore the growing importance of fall and early winter travel in sustaining accommodation performance outside of the summer peak.
Fourth-quarter hotel performance finished ahead of 2024, capping a strong year and reinforcing the growing importance of fall and early winter travel in Kelowna.
Short-Term Rentals Continue to Perform Steadily Through Q4
Short-term rentals finished Q4 slightly ahead of 2024, supported by higher average daily rates and increased reservation volumes, while occupancy remained relatively stable year-over-year. October delivered the strongest year-over-year results, with November and December easing but remaining close to 2024 levels. Inventory remained lean, with slightly fewer active listings. Overall, short-term rentals continue to play an important role in meeting demand, particularly during shoulder-season travel periods.
Photo by: Darren Hull Studios
YLW Passenger Volumes Remain Strong Late Into the Year
Passenger traffic through Kelowna International Airport (YLW) surpassed 2024 levels in each month of the fourth quarter, with October recording the largest year-over-year increase. Sustained growth in passenger volumes reflects continued traveller confidence in Kelowna beyond the summer season and supports steady tourism activity through the fall and early winter months.
Year-to-date, YLW performance remains well ahead of 2024 totals, reinforcing the airport’s role as a key regional gateway and an important driver of year-round visitation.
Q4 results highlight Kelowna’s continued momentum as a four-season destination, supported by strong accommodation performance and sustained air access.
Visitor Spending Softens as Behaviour Continues to Shift
Visitor spending eased in Q4, with total spend down year-over-year despite solid accommodation and air performance. Spending remained slightly below 2024 levels throughout the quarter, reflecting softer in-destination spend per trip. These trends suggest changing priorities (in terms of what visitors are spending their money on) and trip profiles (such as shorter stays), rather than a broad decline in demand.
As travel patterns continue to evolve, understanding how visitors allocate spend across sectors remains an important focus for supporting a balanced and resilient visitor economy.
Visitation Patterns Show More Trips, Shorter Stays
Preliminary October visitation data showed total trips up 1.9% year-over-year, while average nights per trip declined by 9%, dropping from 2.5 nights per trip in 2024 to 2.3 nights per trip in 2025. This indicates more visitors but shorter stays, which can cap total in-destination spend even when properties perform well. While complete visitation data for the full quarter is not available at this time, these early indicators suggest travel behaviour continues to favour shorter, high-value trips, particularly through the fall shoulder season.
Tourism Kelowna will continue to track visitation trends as additional data becomes available and use these insights to shape marketing efforts, including highlighting multi-day itineraries that showcase the depth of experiences available here, encouraging travellers to stay longer and explore more. We will also continue our work to attract conferences and major events to our region, as that also helps increase the length of stay.
Looking Ahead
As 2025 comes to a close, fourth-quarter results reflect a tourism economy that remains steady, adaptable, and increasingly balanced across seasons. Strong accommodation performance and sustained year-over-year growth in air access provide a solid foundation heading into 2026.
Tourism Kelowna will continue to monitor these indicators closely and work with industry partners to support year-round visitation, encourage deeper engagement with local experiences, and build on the momentum established over the past year.
Data Notes & Methodology
Data in this report is drawn from Tourism Kelowna’s Tourism Industry Indicators for Q4 2025 and reflects year-over-year comparisons with Q4 2024 unless otherwise noted. Indicators include hotel performance, short-term rental activity, passenger volumes at Kelowna International Airport, and visitor spending estimates. Complete visitation data for the fourth quarter is not available at this time and will be reported once the full data set is finalized.
