National Travel Survey, first quarter 2022
Released: 2022-08-26
Highlights
In the first quarter, Canadians took 46.5 million trips within Canada or abroad, almost 20 million more than the first quarter of 2021. While this is less than three-quarters (73.2%) of the number of trips taken during the same period in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic, the increase from 2021 demonstrates a continued recovery in travel activity.
The majority of trips (93.5%) made by Canadians from January to March 2022 were domestic, whereas before the pandemic, roughly 15% were destined for the United States or overseas. In the first quarter, Canadians spent nearly twice as much on domestic trips ($10.0 billion) as on international travel ($5.8 billion).
Compared with the first quarter of 2019, although Canadians took longer trips, domestic tourism spending was 3.9% below the pre-pandemic level. Internationally, with fewer trips made overall, tourism spending abroad was 47.1% lower in the first quarter compared with its 2019 counterpart.
More recent data on international travel by Canadian residents are available from the monthly "Travel between Canada and other countries."
Border restrictions return then ease
During the first quarter, Canadian residents seeking to travel within Canada or abroad initially encountered restrictions that were renewed in the wake of the Omicron variant. Moreover, many provinces delayed reopening plans and restricted in-person gatherings and large-scale events.
In mid-February, tourism activity gained new traction as the Government of Canada announced a phased easing of travel requirements. By the end of the same month, international passenger flights were once again permitted to land at all international Canadian airports.
Additionally, Canadian tourism activity was once again on the road to recovery by the end of the first quarter, with many provincial restrictions being eased.
Domestic travel recovering
In the first quarter, Canadian residents made 43.5 million domestic trips, up 62.7% from the first quarter of 2021 and four-fifths (80.1%) of the level from the same quarter in 2019. While the number of domestic overnight trips more than doubled to 13.6 million from 2021, the number remained below 2019 pre-pandemic levels for both overnight (81.8%) and same-day (79.4%) trips.
Domestic travel expenditures by Canadians during the first quarter were $10.0 billion, nearly three times the amount spent in 2021 and in line with the $10.4 billion spent in 2019. However, the average spending of $229 per trip ($114 same-day and $484 overnight) compared with $191 in 2019 may reflect price increases to some extent as well as the longer average stay per visit.
In fact, the consumer price index points to rising costs for traveller accommodation, air transportation, and gasoline. The largest spending category during the first quarter was on vehicle operations (over $2.0 billion), closely followed by accommodations (nearly $2.0 billion) and restaurants and bars ($1.6 billion).
During the first quarter, Canadians spent $881.9 million on commercial transportation and $260.3 million on entertainment, both lower than in the first quarter of 2019.
Trip activities in the first quarter reflected the easing of restrictions that allowed more in-person participation. While most types of activities saw an increase from the first quarter of 2021, activities that could potentially involve denser crowds remained lower compared with 2019, such as going to the movies (down 46.3%), visiting casinos (down 41.1%), and attending sport events as a spectator (down 40.9%).
As was the case throughout the pandemic, solo or small group outdoor activities continued to be more prevalent during the first quarter. For instance, hiking or backpacking rose 88.6% and downhill skiing or snowboarding was up 44.7% from the same quarter in 2019.
Travel to the United States lagging
With the Canada–US land border open for non-essential travel during the first quarter, Canadian residents made more than 1.7 million trips to the United States. While nearly eight times as many compared with the first quarter of 2021, they represent over one-quarter (28.9%) of the nearly 6 million trips taken during the same quarter in 2019.
Canadians spent an average of $1,811 per trip to the United States during the first quarter, compared with $931 in 2019. With fewer trips, however, the $3.1 billion in total spending by Canadian residents visiting the United States was significantly lower than the $5.6 billion spent in 2019.
Spending by Canadians on accommodation ($1.3 billion) and in restaurants and bars ($428.7 million), typically the two largest expenses, were both lower than in the first quarter of 2019.
Among trip purposes, holiday, leisure, or recreation (879,700 trips) and visiting friends or relatives (401,900 trips) were the most frequent.
Overseas travel recovering faster
With travel restrictions easing in the first quarter, Canadians returned from more than 1.3 million trips overseas, reaching more than a million for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. Despite exceeding this milestone, it was two-fifths (40.0%) of the number of such trips from the same quarter in 2019.
In the first quarter, Canadian residents travelled overseas for holiday, leisure, or recreation (909,800) and to visit friends or relatives (338,800). While both are large increases from the first quarter of 2021, they represent less than half (40.3% and 43.8% respectively) of such trips made in 2019.
The $2.7 billion spent overseas by travellers in the first quarter represented nearly half (49.4%) of the amount spent during the same quarter in 2019 ($5.4 billion). This decrease was felt across all spending categories, including accommodation (down 45.9% to $1.4 billion) as well as restaurants and bars (down 53.8% to $516.7 million).
The main overseas countries that Canadians visited during the first quarter appear to reflect popular warmer vacation destinations such as Mexico (448,000 visits), Dominican Republic (125,000 visits), and Cuba (66,000 visits). These countries were also the top three overseas destinations for Canadians during the first quarter of 2019.
Products
Data from the first quarter of 2022 from the National Travel Survey are now available. Other tables, including statistical profiles of Canadian travellers, are available upon request.
Note to readers
The National Travel Survey (NTS) collects information about the domestic and international travel of Canadian residents.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, collection of the NTS was suspended from March to June 2020. As a result, preliminary estimates for the first quarter of 2020 are incomplete and excluded from the above analysis.
Please note that the measure of total domestic visit-expenditures now includes commercial air expenditures incurred at the point of origin of the trip.
Target population is the civilian, non-institutionalized population aged 18 and older in Canada's provinces, excluding persons living on Indian reserves and in the territories. Routine trips taken by commuters and diplomatic or military personnel are out-of-scope.
Domestic trips are made by travellers residing in Canada who travelled inside Canada for a period of less than 12 months before returning to their place of residence.
Same-day trips or visits take place within the same calendar day—that is, the traveller left and returned home on the same day—and must be a distance of 40 km or more away (one way).
Trips abroad are made by travellers residing in Canada who travelled outside of Canada for a period of less than 12 months before returning. Foreign citizens who are residing in Canada and travel abroad are included as Canadian resident travellers.
A trip abroad for persons residing in Canada starts when they cross the border to exit the country and ends when they first re-enter Canada.
Trips and visits: A trip can consist of one or more visits. A Canadian traveller on a trip abroad may cross into several countries or US states before being recorded as having re-entered Canada. Each of these crossings represents a visit. Similarly, a Canadian resident travelling in Canada may stay in several locations during their trip. Each stay at a Canadian location (for example, a province) within a given trip represents a visit.
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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