Leading indicator of international arrivals to Canada, January 2024
Released: 2024-02-12
Highlights
In January 2024, the preliminary number of international arrivals to Canada by air and automobile increased 10.6% from January 2023.
By air, the number of non-resident arrivals in Canada totalled 431,400 in January 2024, up 13.8% year over year. Meanwhile, the number of Canadian-resident return trips from abroad reached 1.9 million, a 12.3% increase from January 2023.
By automobile, US residents took 573,400 trips to Canada in January 2024, up 1.4% from the same month in 2023. The number of Canadian-resident return trips from the United States also rose, up 11.5% year over year to 1.6 million trips in January 2024.
All statistics in this release are based on the primary data sources for air and automobile arrivals (see Note to readers). To further explore current and historical data in an interactive format, please visit the Frontier Counts: Interactive Dashboard.
Non-resident trips to Canada by air
In January, non-resident arrivals in Canada by air totalled 431,400, up 13.8% year over year. These include arrivals from the United States (197,500) and from other countries (233,900). During the first 10 days of January, Canada welcomed an average of 11,300 non-resident visitors per day, while during the remainder of the month, the daily average was 15,200 non-resident visitors.
When data from Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal 1 are excluded from the total arrivals (see Note to readers), non-resident arrivals in January represented 79.2% of the volume from January 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Infographic 1
Trips to Canada by commercial aircraft, by country of residence, January 2024
Chart 1
Non-resident trips to Canada by commercial aircraft, January, 2019 to 2024
Canadian-resident return trips by air
In January, Canadian-resident return trips from abroad by air stood at 1.9 million, up 12.3% from January 2023. The first week of January 2024 was busy, with a daily average of 75,000 arrivals, while the daily average for the remainder of the month fell to 59,300 arrivals.
When arrivals at Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal 1 are excluded from the total arrivals (see Note to readers), the number of return trips in January was 3.5% higher than the pre-pandemic level observed in January 2020.
Chart 2
Canadian-resident return trips from abroad by commercial aircraft, January, 2019 to 2024
US-resident trips to Canada by automobile
In January 2024, the number of US-resident trips to Canada by automobile reached 573,400, up 1.4% from the 565,700 trips recorded in the same month in 2023. January 12, 2024, saw the most US-resident arrivals (36,800), while January 17, 2024, saw the fewest (9,200).
The number of arrivals by automobile in January represented 79.0% of that observed in January 2020.
Infographic 2
Trips to Canada by automobile, by country of residence, January 2024
Chart 3
United States-resident trips to Canada by automobile, January, 2019 to 2024
Canadian-resident return trips by automobile
In January 2024, the number of Canadian-resident return trips from visiting the United States by automobile totalled 1.6 million, an increase of 11.5% compared with the 1.4 million trips taken the same month one year earlier. Over the first weekend of January 2024, the number of arrivals totalled 187,800, which was 55.2% higher than the average of the three other January weekends (121,100).
In January, the number of Canadian-resident return trips by automobile reached 92.6% of the 1.7 million trips observed in the same month in 2020.
Chart 4
Canadian-resident return trips from the United States by automobile, January, 2019 to 2024
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Note to readers
This release provides an indicator based on preliminary data on international arrivals to Canada in January 2024. Complete counts for the January reference month will be available with the release of "Travel between Canada and other countries" on March 22, 2024.
All counts of arrivals by air are from commercial aircraft and are produced exclusively using Primary Inspection Kiosk (PIK) data received from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). PIKs were deployed at Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal 1 on June 22, 2021, and, as of July 2021, these arrivals are included in the total counts, which has consequently improved coverage. In 2023, PIKs captured 91.2% of all commercial air arrivals.
Counts of arrivals entering the country by automobile through land ports equipped with the CBSA's automated Integrated Primary Inspection Line (IPIL) system represent a subset of US-resident trips and Canadian-resident return trips by automobile. In 2023, IPIL land ports captured 89.1% of all automobile entries.
Readers are encouraged to review the concepts, definitions, data sources, and methods for Frontier Counts, especially when making historical comparisons and examining specific regions.
Select estimates from the Canadian Tourism Activity Tracker for November 2023 are available upon request.
Products
The product "Frontier Counts: Interactive Dashboard," part of the Data Visualization Products series (71-607-X), is 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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