Visitor Travel Survey, second quarter 2023
Released: 2023-11-24
Highlights
Spending in Canada by international travellers totalled nearly $7.0 billion in the second quarter, almost twice the amount spent during the same quarter of 2022 ($3.6 billion). Total visitor spending was 11.1% higher in the second quarter of 2023 than the $6.3 billion spent from April to June 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Increased spending by US visitors
In the second quarter of 2023, US residents spent $3.8 billion visiting Canada, a 94.2% increase from the same quarter in 2022 ($2.0 billion). Spending by US residents in the second quarter of 2023 was up 20.0% from the same quarter in 2019 ($3.2 billion).
From April to June 2023, spending by US residents was concentrated in Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec, and Alberta, which together accounted for 91.3% of US-resident spending.
In the second quarter, the top three expenditures for US travellers continued to be accommodations ($1.5 billion), food and beverages ($931.9 million) and transportation within Canada ($560.0 million). However, spending on recreation and entertainment rose notably to $500.1 million, up from $274.7 million in the same quarter of 2019.
Spending by travellers from overseas countries similar to pre-pandemic level
In the second quarter of 2023, residents of overseas countries spent $3.1 billion while visiting Canada, which was similar to spending in the same quarter of 2019. Also, spending by overseas travellers was up sharply (+89.1%) from the $1.7 billion spent in the second quarter of 2022.
The majority (94.3%) of this spending in the second quarter of 2023 took place in Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec, and Alberta.
Residents of the United Kingdom ($417.7 million), India ($321.1 million) and Mexico ($293.2 million) together accounted for nearly one-third (32.8%) of total spending by overseas visitors in the second quarter.
Accommodations ($1.1 billion) was the largest spending category in the second quarter, followed by food and beverages ($793.3 million) and transportation within Canada ($422.9 million). Together, these categories represented nearly three-quarters (73.2%) of total spending by overseas visitors in Canada.
Chart 1
Total travel expenditures by international travellers, by province and territory, second quarter 2023
Note to readers
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, collection activity relating to the Visitor Travel Survey (VTS) was suspended in March 2020 and estimates for the quarters from the second quarter of 2020 to the first quarter of 2023 were produced using a model based on 2019 VTS estimates adjusted with Frontier Counts results.
VTS collection activities partially resumed in April 2023. For the air commercial component, the Air Exit Survey (AES) resumed at five major airports. For the non-air commercial portion, estimates were calculated using a combination of AES data collected and historical non-air commercial data, as well as Frontier Counts.
Users are strongly advised to read the description of data sources, methods and limitations provided in the Visitor Travel Survey web page.
It is recommended that users interpret estimates for these quarters with the aforementioned considerations in mind. Comparisons of historical VTS results with current VTS results should be made with caution, due to the use of different methods to produce estimates for US and overseas residents visiting Canada.
All data in this release are expressed in current dollars unless otherwise noted.
Recent data on international travel to Canada are available in the monthly "Travel between Canada and other countries" release.
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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