Canadian Tourism Activity Tracker, March 2022
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Released: 2022-06-10
Highlights
In March, overall tourism activity in Canada was 29.1% below the level reached in March 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. There was a steady improvement in tourism from May to December 2021 until a temporary pause in January 2022 due to the Omicron variant. Tourism activity in March rebounded to equal the strongest recovery since the onset of the pandemic.
With the further easing of travel restrictions in March, both domestic and inbound travel contributed to the improvement in overall tourism recovery across the country.
Use the Canadian Tourism Activity Tracker visualization tool to interact with the data.
Border restrictions ease
In February 2022, the Government of Canada announced a phased easing of travel requirements issued in late 2021 to combat the Omicron variant. As of February 28, travellers entering Canada were given the option of providing a negative COVID-19 rapid antigen test for entry.
On the same day, restrictions as to where international passenger flights could arrive in Canada were lifted. Such flights were, once again, permitted to land at all international Canadian airports.
For a glimpse of what is to come, consult April's Leading indicator of international arrivals to Canada.
Tourism activity improves in March
Since dipping in May 2021, overall tourism activity steadily increased for the rest of the year, ending the year in December at 29.1% below its pre-pandemic level. In January 2022, overall tourism activity fell back to 43.4% below its pre-pandemic level with delays in provincial reopening plans and renewed COVID-19 restrictions. By February, however, activity was back on track to recovery, with March reaching 29.1% below its 2019 pre-pandemic level, equalling the December high.
In March 2022, both domestic and inbound tourism improved. Domestic activity (i.e., from Canadians travelling within Canada) was down by 18.9% while inbound activity (i.e., from international visitors) was down by 56.8% from March 2019, before the pandemic.
Indeed, gross domestic product in March echoed this recovery, noting strong growth in client-facing service industries such as accommodation and food services; passenger airlines; and arts, entertainment, and recreation.
Chart 1
Canadian Tourism Activity Tracker, December 2019 to March 2022
Tourism activity up in most provinces
Increased domestic tourism activity was felt across most provinces in March, with British Columbia and Quebec getting closer to a full recovery, 13% below the level seen in March 2019, prior to the pandemic. All provinces had recovered at least three-quarters of their pre-pandemic domestic tourism activity from March 2019.
The 148,900 overseas visitors arriving in Canada during March helped to bolster inbound activity more in some provinces, particularly in Quebec, Alberta and Ontario.
Note to readers
The Canadian Tourism Activity Tracker is part of a shift at Statistics Canada from measuring the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to assessing the recovery. The tracker combines data from multiple sources, including counts of international travellers, domestic and international commercial aircraft and surface movements, as well as hotel occupancy rates and restaurant sales.
When combining these data sources, each series is first normalized using a ratio method that removes seasonality and allows comparison with the same month from the 2019 base. Then weights are used to combine these normalized values into a single estimate for a given month and geography. The weights are determined based on the data series correlation with overall tourism; the higher the correlation, the larger the weight.
The domestic tourism value is calculated using domestic-related data, while the inbound value uses international-related sources. The two values are combined proportionately based on pre-pandemic National Travel Survey and Visitor Travel Survey data, with the level set to zero for each month in the 2019 base year. For a given month in subsequent years, a tracker value above zero indicates that tourism activity is greater than the 2019 base, while a value below zero indicates the opposite.
As an experimental product, caution is warranted when interpreting these estimates. As such, tracker estimates should be viewed as preliminary and are subject to revision. With more data sources being considered along with new methods, this may entail the need for further revisions.
Products
The product "Canadian Tourism Activity Tracker," part of the Data Visualization Products series (71-607-X), is now available.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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