National Travel Survey, second quarter 2022
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Released: 2022-11-25
Highlights
Canadian residents took 70.6 million trips within Canada or abroad during the second quarter, 31.8 million more than in the second quarter of 2021 and over nine-tenths (91.8%) of the number taken during the same period in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
From April to June 2022, the majority (92.0%) of trips were domestic, while 5.7% were destined for the United States and 2.4% overseas. This marks a discernible increase in international travel by Canadians, as 99.1% of trips were domestic during the same quarter in 2021.
In the second quarter, Canadians spent over twice as much on domestic trips ($17.2 billion) as international travel ($8.2 billion). Domestic tourism spending was over three times higher compared with the second quarter of 2021, and it surpassed spending during the same quarter in 2019 by 25.8%.
More recent data on international travel by Canadian residents are available from the monthly release "Travel between Canada and other countries."
Border restrictions subside
During the second quarter, travel became progressively easier for Canadians as many restrictions at borders were eased. At the beginning of April, fully vaccinated Canadians no longer needed to provide a negative COVID-19 test when returning to Canada by air, land or water, nor were they required to provide a quarantine plan by the end of the month.
As June approached, congestion in Canadian airports created challenges for passengers seeking to travel domestically and abroad. Random COVID-19 testing at all Canadian airports was paused on June 11, 2022, for fully vaccinated travellers, allowing airports to streamline their operations during the beginning of the busy summer travel season.
Canadian tourism activity was recovering further by the end of the second quarter, with many travel restrictions lifted, such as the requirement to provide proof of vaccination to travel by plane or train domestically, or board an international flight.
Domestic travel soars
In the second quarter, Canadian residents made 64.9 million domestic trips, up by over two-thirds (69.0%) from 2021, and reaching 96.9% of the level from the same quarter in 2019. The number of domestic overnight trips more than doubled to 23.1 million from 2021, 4.9% higher than the 2019 pre-pandemic level. Same-day travel also recovered to 41.8 million trips during the second quarter, albeit at a slower pace than overnight travel.
Domestic travel expenditures by Canadians during the second quarter were $17.2 billion, over three times the amount spent during the second quarter of 2021 and 25.8% higher than the $13.7 billion spent in 2019. Average spending was $265 per trip ($126 for same-day trips and $517 for overnight trips), compared with $204 in 2019. This change reflects price increases to some extent.
In June, for example, the Consumer Price Index indicated sharply rising costs for traveller accommodation, air transportation and gasoline. The largest spending category during the second quarter was vehicle operations ($3.7 billion), closely followed by accommodation ($3.6 billion), then restaurants and bars ($2.9 billion).
During the second quarter, Canadians spent $1.7 billion on commercial transportation, down from the $1.8 billion spent during the same quarter of 2019. However, expenditures on recreation ($794.0 million) and entertainment ($575.6 million) were both higher than pre-pandemic levels in 2019 ($613.2 million and $553.0 million, respectively).
Trip activities in the second quarter reflected the easing of restrictions, allowing greater attendance at events. While such activities saw increasing participation compared with the second quarter of 2021, they remained below 2019 levels. For example, attending festivals or fairs (-43.0%) and going to the movies (-25.6%) remained lower compared with levels observed in 2019.
As has been the case throughout the pandemic, solo or small group outdoor activities remained popular during the second quarter. For instance, Canadians reported camping (+49.0%) and hiking or backpacking (+42.1%) at rates far above those seen in the same quarter in 2019.
Travel to the United States grows
With travel restrictions easing at the border, Canadian residents made nearly 4.0 million trips to the United States in the second quarter. While this number was up sharply compared with the same quarter in 2021, it represents over half (54.7%) of the 7.3 million trips taken during the same months in 2019.
Canadians spent an average of $1,162 per trip to the United States during the second quarter, compared with $923 during the same reference period in 2021. And with more trips, the $4.6 billion in total spending by Canadian residents visiting the United States was significantly higher than the $224.5 million spent in 2021.
Spending by Canadians on accommodation ($1.9 billion) and in restaurants and bars ($736.6 million) represented the two largest expense categories. Among trip purposes, the most reported were holiday, leisure or recreation (1.8 million trips) and visiting friends or relatives (902,100 trips).
Overseas travel increasing
During the second quarter, Canadians returned from nearly 1.7 million trips overseas. This was significantly more trips compared with the second quarter of 2021 (92,200) and the highest level of recovery during the COVID-19 era, at almost two-thirds (64.5%) of the trips taken during the same quarter in 2019.
The primary reasons for overseas travel by Canadian residents included holiday, leisure or recreation (1.0 million trips) and visiting friends or relatives (482,500 trips).
Of the over $3.5 billion spent overseas by Canadian travellers in the second quarter, the two largest spending categories were accommodation ($1.7 billion) and restaurants and bars ($666.0 million).
The main overseas countries that Canadians visited during the second quarter include Mexico (282,000 visits), France (163,000 visits) and the United Kingdom (140,000 visits).
Products
Data from the second 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, and preliminary estimates for the second quarter of 2020 are incomplete.
Please note that all expenditures are visit expenditures, and the measure of total domestic visit expenditures now includes commercial air expenditures incurred at the point of origin of the trip.
The target population is the civilian, non-institutionalized population 18 years of age and older in Canada's provinces, excluding people 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 Canada for a period of less than 12 months before returning to Canada. Foreign citizens who are residing in Canada and travel abroad are included as Canadian resident travellers.
A trip abroad for people residing in Canada starts when they cross the border to exit Canada 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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