Travel between Canada and other countries, September 2023
Released: 2023-11-23
Highlights
In September, the number of non-resident visitors to Canada accounted for 90.9% of the number observed in September 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the number of returning Canadian residents reached 85.5% of the level recorded in September 2019.
Residents of overseas countries took 682,300 trips to Canada in September 2023, and US residents took 2.2 million trips. At the same time, Canadian residents returned from 3.9 million trips abroad.
Vacations by cruise increased for the seventh consecutive month to 355,400 total cruise arrivals.
To further explore current and historical data in an interactive format, please visit the Frontier Counts: Interactive Dashboard.
Overseas arrivals in Canada
In September, 682,300 overseas residents arrived in Canada, up 45.6% from the 468,600 overseas arrivals in September 2022, reaching 80.4% of the overseas arrivals recorded in September 2019 (849,100), before the pandemic.
Nearly half (47.8%) of overseas visitors arrived from Europe in September 2023 (326,500), up 20.6% from September 2022 (270,600) and reaching 80.6% of the trips to Canada by European residents recorded in September 2019 (405,000).
The number of overseas visitors from Asia was 170,100 in September 2023, nearly double the number of such visitors in September 2022 (89,300) and representing almost two-thirds of those recorded in September 2019 (265,800). The recovery rate of visitors from Asia increased from 49.0% in August 2023 to 64.0% in September.
Residents from overseas countries visiting Canada in September predominantly arrived from the United Kingdom (95,600), France (73,000) and Germany (49,000).
US-resident trips to Canada
In September, US residents took 2.2 million trips to Canada, up 39.4% from the 1.6 million trips taken in September 2022 and reaching 94.7% of trips taken during the same month in 2019 (2.3 million).
Total US-resident arrivals by land (1.4 million) increased by 47.7% in September 2023 from September 2022 (947,900). Of arrivals by land in September 2023, 1.3 million were trips taken by automobile, 53,400 by bus, 19,800 by pedestrians, and 16,600 by train. Nearly half (47.4%) of arrivals by automobile were same-day returns (619,900).
Canadian-resident trips to the United States
Canadian residents returned from 3.1 million trips to the United States in September, an increase of 25.4% from September 2022 (2.5 million) and reaching 84.7% of such trips taken during the same month in 2019 (3.6 million).
Of the total return trips by Canadian residents in September 2023, 2.3 million were by automobile, nearly two-thirds (64.0%) of which were same-day returns (1.4 million).
The number of Canadian-resident return trips from the United States by air was 714,700 in September 2023, decreasing slightly (-0.8%) from the 720,100 trips recorded in September 2022. However, in September 2023, the number of return trips by air was 1.1% higher than the pre-pandemic level observed in September 2019 (707,100).
Canadian residents travelling overseas
In September 2023, Canadian residents took 779,800 return trips overseas, up 44.8% from the same month in 2022 (538,700). The number of Canadian-resident return trips overseas in September 2023 corresponded to 88.8% of the pre-pandemic level recorded in September 2019 (877,800).
Cruise vacations continue to increase
For the seventh consecutive month since February 2023, the number of arrivals in Canada by cruise continued to increase, with a total of 355,400 trips taken in September. Canadian residents took 36,700 cruise trips arriving in Canada, exceeding pre-pandemic cruises taken in September 2019 (35,300) by 4.0%. US residents took 270,100 cruise trips arriving in Canada in September 2023, surpassing the 202,500 trips taken in the same month in 2019 by 33.3%. Overseas residents took 48,600 trips by cruise arriving in Canada in September 2023, reaching 70.6% of those reported in September 2019 (68,900).
Note to readers
Additional information regarding data from May to July 2023 was 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 with the August 2023 release.
Beginning 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 June 2023 to August 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 October 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 September 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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