Travel between Canada and other countries, August 2022
Released: 2022-10-24
Highlights
In August, while the number of international arrivals to Canada continued to increase year over year, the pace of recovery has slowed somewhat from July.
Residents of overseas countries made six times more trips to Canada in August compared with the same month in 2021, over half (51.6%) of the trips taken in August 2019.
Likewise, US residents took nearly 2.0 million trips to Canada in August 2022. This was almost four times the number of trips taken in August 2021 and represented over half (55.4%) of the trips in August 2019.
Canadian residents returned from over 3.7 million trips abroad in August 2022, more than four times such trips taken in August 2021 and reaching 63.4% of the level in August 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
For more current estimates of international arrivals into Canada, please see the "Leading indicator of international arrivals to Canada" for the September reference month.
Travel recovery faces new challenges
International travel has steadily increased since August 2021, with the exception of a temporary pause in January 2022 due to the Omicron variant and renewed COVID-19 restrictions. In fact, the pace of recovery in international travel is now more subject to capacity constraints than to public health restrictions.
In August, the country's major airports continued to face challenges with increasing passenger counts and various staff shortages. The situation forced several of the largest passenger airlines to curtail some services during this last month of the busy summer travel season.
Recovery of overseas visitors slows
In August, 546,600 overseas residents arrived in Canada, up from the 91,300 such arrivals in August 2021. While this is more than half (51.6%) of the overseas residents who arrived in Canada in August 2019, before the pandemic, it is lower than the 56.6% recovery posted in July 2022.
The 344,900 arrivals from Europe (up from 42,500 in August 2021) remained the largest segment of overseas residents arriving in Canada in August. The 81,500 arrivals from the Americas (excluding US residents) slightly outnumbered the 81,000 arrivals from Asia, typically a much larger segment.
US-resident trips to Canada
In August, US residents made nearly 2.0 million trips to Canada, almost four times as many trips as in August 2021 (509,700) and over half (55.4%) of the trips taken during the same month in 2019. However, this was 224,800 fewer trips by US residents than in July 2022.
Of the total arrivals in August 2022, 1.2 million were by automobile with 36.3% being same-day returns (438,600). This was an increase from the 412,200 total arrivals by automobile in August 2021 and nearly half (49.8%) of such arrivals recorded in August 2019, before the pandemic.
More Canadians travel to the United States
Canadian residents returned from nearly 3.0 million trips to the United States in August, almost six times the number recorded in August 2021 (506,100) and 62.5% of the level in August 2019, before the pandemic. Of this total, 2.2 million residents were by automobile in August 2022, with over half (51.1%) being same-day trips.
The number of Canadian residents returning by air from the United States was 685,000 in August, up from 170,000 in August 2021 and which represented 92.7% of the trips recorded in the same month in 2019, before the pandemic.
On a monthly basis, about 400,000 more Canadians returned from the United States in August compared with July.
Canadians travelling overseas
In August, 752,900 Canadian residents returned from visiting overseas, more than doubling from the same month in 2021 (341,700).
On a monthly basis from July, 32,000 more Canadians returned from visiting overseas in August. While this represents over two-thirds (67.3%) of the number from pre-pandemic August 2019, it was down from the 82.9% recovery reached in July.
Note to readers
Statistics Canada's Frontier Counts program uses Canada Border Services Agency administrative data gathered from all international travellers who have been cleared for entry or re-entry into Canada.
Starting with the January 2022 release, all estimates, including those in Table 1, are based on unadjusted counts only. Seasonally adjusted data continue to be available online in tables 24-10-0051-01 and 24-10-0054-01.
Seasonally adjusted data from May 2022 to July 2022 have been revised. No revisions were made to data that were not seasonally adjusted.
Elements of Statistics Canada's Frontier Counts program were modified in January 2022. For example, travellers arriving by commercial air with a trip duration of a year or more and workers are now excluded from the visitor counts. Although these changes should not have a significant impact on total estimates, readers are encouraged to review the concepts, definitions, data sources and methods for Frontier Counts, as well as the explanatory notes for the online tables, especially when making historical comparisons and examining specific regions.
Overseas countries refer to countries other than Canada or the United States.
A Canadian resident visitor is a Canadian resident traveller whose trip purpose outside Canada is related to tourism and whose trip duration is less than one year.
A non-resident visitor is a traveller to Canada whose country of residence is not Canada, whose trip purpose is related to tourism and whose trip duration is less than one year.
Products
The August 2022 issue of International Travel: Advance Information (66-001-P) 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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