Visitor Travel Survey, third quarter 2023
Released: 2024-02-27
Highlights
Canada welcomed 10.5 million travellers from the United States and overseas in the third quarter, representing 83.9% of the number of trips made in the same quarter of 2019. More than three-quarters (77.8%) of these travellers were from the United States.
From July to September 2023, spending in Canada by non-resident travellers totalled $10.1 billion, up 6.7% from the third quarter of 2019. This growth was mainly driven by a 17.8% increase in spending in Canada by US travellers.
Visitors from the United States
US residents made 8.1 million trips to Canada in the third quarter of 2023, equivalent to 85.9% of the pre-COVID-19 pandemic level in the third quarter of 2019.
From July to September 2023, holidays, leisure or recreation (4.2 million trips) was the most common reason given by these travellers to visit Canada. US residents made a total of 663,000 business-related trips, accounting for 57.1% of such trips in the same quarter of 2019.
In the third quarter of 2023, Ontario (3.9 million visits) was the province most visited by US residents, followed by British Columbia (2.5 million visits) and Quebec (1.0 million visits).
During this period, US residents travelling in Canada spent $5.4 billion during their stay, up from $4.5 billion spent in the summer of 2019. In the third quarter of 2023, the majority (88.2%) of these expenditures were made in Ontario ($1.7 billion), British Columbia ($1.4 billion), Alberta ($815.3 million) and Quebec ($766.7 million). On average, US travellers spent $658 per trip, compared with an average of $480 in the same quarter of 2019.
In the summer of 2023, accommodation (38.9%), food and beverages (25.0%), and transportation within Canada (15.3%) represented the biggest expenses for US visitors to Canada. These proportions are similar to the ones observed in the third quarter of 2019.
Overseas visitors
Travellers from overseas (countries other than the United States) made 2.3 million trips to Canada in the third quarter of 2023. Of these, 985,000 trips were primarily for holidays, leisure or recreation, and 960,000 trips were to visit friends or relatives.
Ontario (1.0 million visits) was the province most visited by overseas travellers in the third quarter, followed by British Columbia (879,000 visits) and Quebec (695,000 visits).
Spending by overseas visitors to Canada totalled $4.7 billion in the third quarter, almost on par with the $4.9 billion spent in the third quarter of 2019. More than a third (34.1%) of this spending took place in British Columbia in the third quarter of 2023, followed by Ontario (28.2%) and Quebec (18.7%). On average, overseas travellers spent $2,030 per trip.
In the third quarter, spending on accommodation reached $1.7 billion (35.9% of total spending), while $1.2 billion was spent on food and beverages (25.6% of total spending). These were followed by spending on transportation within Canada (14.1%), clothes and gifts (13.3%), and recreation and entertainment (9.1%).
Chart 1
Total travel expenditures by international travellers, by province and territory, third quarter 2023
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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 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 webpage.
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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