Travel demand to Vancouver, Toronto up for World Cup, World Series
Posted October 24, 2025 6:50 am.
With many Canadians continuing to sidestep travel to the U.S. amid trade war tensions, demand for flights to Toronto is skyrocketing, ahead of Game 1 of the World Series Friday afternoon. And that’s not the only big sporting event in the country that’s getting a lot of attention.
Speaking to 1130 NewsRadio from Toronto, Vice-President of Flight Centre Travel Group Canada Anita Emillio says flights to Toronto really started picking up steam last month. Adding, it’s up by 20 per cent year-over-year.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO 1130 NEWSRADIO VANCOUVER LIVE!She says their data shows 48 per cent of Canadians say they plan to prioritize travelling for sports this year.
“They’re not looking to travel to the U.S. to the same degree — to travel to Los Angeles to see them play. For Canadians, we are seeing they are travelling across Canada and looking to see them play in Toronto. We’re seeing hotels that are filling up. Restaurants are getting reservations. So if people can’t actually see the game, they do want to be in the city and experience the city. So, Toronto is definitely seeing an incredible uptick,” said Emillio.
Flight Centre adds that younger travellers are leading the way when it comes to travelling to watch sports, with 47 per cent of Gen Z and Millennials making the trek.
“They really value the ability to participate in sport and entertainment-led travel.”
Emillio explains there’s next-to-no interest in flying to Los Angeles for a game, even though it could be cheaper and more convenient for some Canadians. That comes as leisure travel to the U.S., Flight Centre finds, is way down.
“We’ve actually seen, through the course of the year, a 40 per cent reduction in travel to the U.S., and, of course, that includes Los Angeles,” said Emillion, pointing out that travel bookings to New York and Seattle are trending down and L.A. remains flat.
“People are being patriotic, and there is something about seeing your team win in their home city.”
She adds that people are willing to excuse the cost of a potentially more expensive flight to Toronto, given the Blue Jays are Canada’s team.
“We definitely have a lot of patriotism. There’s also the cost to travel to Los Angeles, including the hotel. It can actually be more reasonable than buying tickets in Toronto, but we are seeing people are being patriotic, and there is something about seeing your team win in their home city,” said Emillio.
She says she was at Game 7 on Monday and explains she met people from all across the country, from Nova Scotia to B.C., the latter likely given the strong connection to the Vancouver Canadians the club has.
Game 1 starts Friday afternoon. Live coverage will be available on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ beginning at 5 p.m. Pacific Time.
Close connection to Vancouver Canadians
With the Vancouver Canadians being the Blue Jays’ single-A affiliate, there’s a deep interest for some British Columbians in the World Series.
Just a handful of months ago, Jays rookie pitcher Trey Yesavage, 22, was in Vancouver playing at Nat Bailey Stadium. Now he’s starting on the mound in Game 1. His first batter up will be Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani.
Overall, this season, eight former Vancouver Canadian’s contributed to Toronto’s season. They are Addison Barger, Lazaro Estrada, Mason Fluharty, Leo Jimenez, Davis Schneider, John Schneider, Paxton Schultz and the aforementioned Yesavage.
FIFA World Cup interest gaining momentum
It may be several months away, but Emillio says interest in flying to Vancouver for next summer’s FIFA World Cup at BC Place is also increasing.
“If you’re looking to stay close to home next summer… book early. They are putting lots of blackout dates for the hotels, so you really want to make sure you get in early because what is available will go quite quickly.”
She explains that ‘blackout dates’ are controlled by hotels ahead of big events.
“Meaning they are unavailable, or, kind of like surge pricing with an Uber, they will increase the prices… And remember you’re competing for those hotel nights with people coming from all over the world as well, so it’s not just Canadians who will be travelling into Toronto and Vancouver.”
Emillio says if you plan on attending FIFA matches or want to be in either city, book now.
“You need to book early — I can’t stress it enough. Once they started announcing all the dates, times and tickets going on sale, that’s when people started booking.”
Travel across the country was up again this year, as people avoided travel to the U.S. Emillio expects that trend to continue into 2026.
“Canadians are booking earlier, so if you are planning to travel, it’s really good advice to consider booking a little bit earlier than you have in past years.”
Outside of Canada, she says Canadians are heading to warm destinations like Costa Rica and Mexico, and also Japan.
