Visitor Travel Survey, first quarter 2023

Released: 2023-08-25

Highlights

Spending in Canada by international travellers totalled $2.7 billion in the first quarter, more than double the amount from the same quarter of 2022 ($1.2 billion), when the Government of Canada and the provinces and territories still had some travel restrictions in place due to the Omicron variant. Total spending from visitors reached 83.2% of the $3.2 billion spent in the same quarter in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19-related travel restrictions

During the first quarter of 2023, most restrictions on travel to Canada were no longer in place. As of January 5, 2023, the Government of Canada implemented the requirement of a negative COVID-19 test for travellers aged 2 years and older arriving from China, Hong Kong or Macao. This restriction remained in place until March 17.

Spending by United States visitors increases

In the first quarter of 2023, US residents spent $1.3 billion while travelling in Canada, up from the $535.3 million spent during the same quarter in 2022. Spending by US residents in the first quarter of 2023 was concentrated in Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec and Alberta, together accounting for 94.3% of expenditures by US residents.

Major expenses for US travellers included accommodation ($504.7 million), food and beverages ($410.3 million) and transportation within Canada ($174.8 million), together accounting for 83.5% of all US visitor expenditures.

Spending by US residents reached 92.2% of the level recorded during the same quarter of 2019. On average, US resident travellers spent $449 per trip during the first quarter of 2023, compared with $377 per trip for the same quarter of 2019.

Spending by overseas visitors rises

During the first quarter of 2023, residents of overseas countries spent $1.4 billion visiting Canada, up sharply from the $656.7 million spent during the first quarter of 2022, with 93.2% spent in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Alberta.

Residents of the United Kingdom ($145.5 million), France ($132.4 million) and Mexico ($129.7 million) combined accounted for 29.1% of the total overseas visitors' spending. Compared with the pre-pandemic first quarter of 2019, France (+3.2%) and Mexico (+17.3%) exceeded their spending.

Accommodation ($493.1 million) was the largest spending category, followed by food and beverages ($474.7 million) and transportation within Canada ($187.0 million). These categories represented 82.5% of all overseas visitor spending.

Spending by visitors from overseas countries reached over three-quarters (76.3%) of the spending level seen in the same quarter of 2019. For the first three months of 2023, the average spending per trip by overseas visitors was $1,782, similar to that during the same period in 2019 ($1,773).

Chart 1 
Total travel expenditures by international travellers, by province and territory, first quarter 2023

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).