Travel between Canada and other countries, August 2023
Released: 2023-10-23
Highlights
In August, the number of non-resident visitors to Canada accounted for 78.2% of the number observed in August 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the number of returning Canadian residents accounted for 84.0% of the level recorded in August 2019.
Residents of overseas countries took 771,000 trips to Canada in August 2023, and US residents took 2.8 million trips. At the same time, Canadian residents returned from 4.9 million trips abroad.
Vacations by cruise continued to increase, as Canadian residents took 35,200 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 August, 771,000 overseas residents arrived in Canada, up 41.1% from the 546,600 overseas arrivals in August 2022 and reaching 72.7% of the overseas arrivals recorded in August 2019, before the pandemic.
Over half (53.0%) of overseas visitors arrived from Europe in August 2023 (408,300), up 18.4% from August 2022 (344,900) and reaching 76.7% of the trips to Canada by European residents recorded in August 2019 (532,100).
The number of overseas visitors from Asia was 154,000 in August 2023, nearly double the number of visitors in August 2022 (81,000) and representing 49.0% of such visitors recorded in August 2019 (314,400).
The slow recovery of visitors from Asia to Canada in August 2023 can be attributed to a sharp decrease in the number of visitors from China (23,500) compared with the number in August 2019 (105,200). In August 2019, based on the number of trips taken, residents of China ranked third of all overseas residents arriving in Canada, following visitors from the United Kingdom and visitors from France. By comparison, in August 2023, visitors from China ranked seventh, while visitors from Mexico joined those from the United Kingdom and those from France in the top three.
US-resident trips to Canada
In August, US residents took 2.8 million trips to Canada, up 44.0% from the 2.0 million trips taken in August 2022 and reaching 79.8% of trips taken during the same month in 2019.
Total US-resident arrivals by land (1.9 million) increased by 52.5% from August 2022 (1.3 million). Of arrivals by land in August 2023, 1.8 million were trips taken by automobile, 84,400 by bus, 27,300 by pedestrians, and 23,300 by train. More than two-fifths (42.1%) of arrivals by automobile were same-day returns (752,600).
Canadian-resident trips to the United States
Canadian residents returned from 4.0 million trips to the United States in August, an increase of 34.7% from August 2022 (3.0 million) and reaching 84.3% of such trips taken during the same month in 2019 (4.8 million).
Of the total return trips by Canadian residents in August 2023, 3.1 million were by automobile, over half (55.3%) of which were same-day returns (1.7 million).
The number of Canadian-resident return trips from the United States by air was 764,900, increasing 11.7% from the 685,000 trips recorded in August 2022. In August 2023, the number of return trips by air was 3.5% higher than the pre-pandemic level observed in August 2019 (739,200).
Canadian residents travelling overseas
In August 2023, Canadian residents took 924,900 return trips overseas, up 22.9% from the same month in 2022 (752,900). The number of Canadian-resident trips overseas in August 2023 corresponded to 82.6% of its pre-pandemic level recorded in August 2019 (1.1 million).
Cruise vacations continue to increase
The number of visitors arriving in Canada by cruise continued to increase, with a total of 354,100 trips taken in August 2023. Canadian residents took 35,200 cruise trips, increasing by nearly two-thirds (+61.4%) from August 2019. US residents took 284,600 cruise trips in August 2023, exceeding the 209,800 trips taken in the same month in 2019 by 35.7%. Overseas residents took 34,200 trips by cruise in August 2023, reaching 98.5% of such trips reported in August 2019.
Note to readers
Additional information regarding data for May to July 2023 has been made available to the Frontier Counts program, resulting in updates to tables 24-10-0050-01, 24-10-0051-01, 24-10-0052-01, 24-10-0053-01, 24-10-0054-01, and 24-10-0055-01.
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 March to July 2023 have been revised.
For more current estimates of international arrivals to Canada, please see the "Leading indicator of international arrivals to Canada" for the September 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 August 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).
- Date modified: