An Exciting Emerging Sector in Barrie
As a four-season destination, Barrie relies on tourism as an important economic driver. Our city offers a lot for its residents and visitors to explore, experience and enjoy. From the sparkling shores of beautiful Kempenfelt Bay and 88 kms of public trails to quick access to golf courses, ski hills, and over 300 hectares of scenic park space, Barrie is home for many and a destination for even more.
Did you know? In February 2025, the City won two Awards of Excellence from the Economic Development Council of Ontario for the 2024 Barrie Airshow and the Sport Tourism Strategy.
A city that invests in strategic tourism offers positive, lasting and memorable impressions, positioning itself as an ideal home for potential new residents and businesses. Working collaboratively with our partners, Invest Barrie helps to ensure that our community is supported by a strong visitor economy keeping Barrie a great place to visit, explore and invest in.
Highlights
The City of Barrie is investing in the 30 recommendations from the Tourism Master Plan including:
- Identify Tourism as a priority economic growth sector
- Establish a full-time tourism development position within the City’s Economic & Creative Development department
- 100% of Municipal Accommodation Tax revenues to be used for the direct benefit of tourism
- Develop a sport tourism strategy
- Upgrade downtown and waterfront wayfinding system
In 2023, Barrie welcomed 7.7M visitors who contributed over $634M to the local economy. Over 7M day trip visitors contributed over $571M and over 582K overnight visitors contributed over $62M to the local economy. (Source: Tourism Barrie)


Tourism Master Plan
Discover all the ways we support the tourism industry by reviewing the Tourism Master Plan.

Sport Tourism Strategy
The Sport Tourism Strategy supports Barrie's ability to attract and host sport events.
Key Partners / Players
Tourism Barrie works to build a vibrant, year-round visitor economy that contributes economic value to Barrie. We value our close working relationship with Invest Barrie and the efforts we make together to position Barrie as a premier tourist destination.