Travel between Canada and other countries, July 2023
Released: 2023-09-22
Highlights
In July, the number of non-resident visitors to Canada accounted for 84.9% of the number observed in July 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the number of returning Canadian residents accounted for 86.3% of the level seen in July 2019.
Residents of overseas countries took 867,700 trips to Canada in July 2023, and US residents took 3.1 million trips. At the same time, Canadian residents returned from 4.5 million trips abroad.
Vacations by cruise continued to increase, as Canadian residents took 24,100 cruise trips.
To further explore current and historical data in an interactive format, please visit the Frontier Counts: Interactive Dashboard.
Overseas visitors to Canada
In July, 867,700 overseas residents arrived in Canada, up 39.7% from July 2022 (621,300) and reaching 79.0% of the overseas arrivals recorded in July 2019, before the pandemic.
Almost half (49.2%) of overseas visitors arrived from Europe in July 2023 (427,300), up 15.1% from July 2022 (371,200) and reaching 80.8% of the number of trips taken to Canada by European residents in July 2019 (528,600).
The number of visitors from Asia was 222,500 in July 2023, more than double the number of visitors in July 2022 (106,200) and representing 68.1% of such visitors recorded in July 2019 (326,500).
US-resident trips to Canada
In July 2023, US residents took 3.1 million trips to Canada, up 42.8% from July 2022 (2.2 million) and reaching 86.6% of the trips taken during the same month in 2019.
Total US-resident arrivals by land (2.1 million) in July 2023 increased by 51.2% from July 2022 (1.4 million). Of arrivals by land in July 2023, 2.0 million were trips taken by automobile, 90,200 by bus, 25,000 by train and 29,900 by pedestrians. Just over two-fifths (40.9%) of arrivals by automobile were same-day returns.
Canadian-resident trips to the United States
Canadian residents returned from 3.7 million trips to the United States in July, an increase of 43.3% from July 2022 (2.6 million) and reaching 86.1% of such trips taken in the same month in 2019 (4.3 million).
Of the total return trips by Canadian residents in July 2023, 2.9 million were by automobile, over half (56.9%) of which were same-day returns.
The number of Canadian-resident return trips from the United States by air was 699,900, increasing 39.0% from the 503,600 trips recorded in July 2022. In July 2023, the number of return trips by air was 5.7% higher than the pre-pandemic level observed in July 2019 (662,300).
Canadian residents travelling overseas
In July 2023, Canadian residents took 757,300 return trips overseas, up 5.1% from the same month in 2022 (720,800). The number of Canadian-resident trips overseas in July 2023 corresponded to 87.1% of its pre-pandemic level recorded in July 2019 (869,100).
Cruise vacations continue to increase
With a total of 331,500 passengers in July, vacations by cruise continued to increase. Canadian residents took 24,100 cruise trips, increasing 35.2% from July 2019. US residents took 275,900 cruise trips in July 2023, exceeding the 216,700 trips taken in the same month in 2019 by 27.4%. Overseas residents took 31,500 trips by cruise in July 2023, reaching 72.3% of such trips reported in July 2019.
Note to readers
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 for January 2022 to June 2023 have been revised. No revisions were made to data that were not seasonally adjusted.
For more current estimates of international arrivals to Canada, please see the "Leading indicator of international arrivals to Canada" for the August 2023 reference month.
Readers are encouraged to review the concepts, definitions, data sources, methods and summary of changes for Frontier Counts, as well as explanatory notes for 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 July 2023 issue of International Travel: Advance Information (66-001-P) is now available.
The product "Frontier Counts: Interactive Dashboard," part of the Data Visualization Products series (71-607-X), is also 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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