Leading indicator of international arrivals to Canada, March 2024
Released: 2024-04-10
Highlights
In March, the preliminary number of international arrivals to Canada by air and automobile increased 16.5% from March 2023.
By air, the number of non-resident arrivals in Canada totalled 575,500 in March 2024, up 15.5% year over year. Meanwhile, the number of Canadian-resident return trips from abroad reached 2.2 million, an 8.3% increase from March 2023.
By automobile, US residents took 862,100 trips to Canada in March 2024, up 24.3% from the same month in 2023. The number of Canadian-resident return trips from the United States also rose, up 23.3% year over year to 2.1 million trips in March 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 March, non-resident arrivals in Canada by air totalled 575,500, up 15.5% year over year. These include arrivals by US residents (283,600) and residents of other countries (291,900). Among US residents, the peak days were observed before Easter, from March 28 to March 30, with an average of 12,100 arrivals per day over this period. This represents a 36.6% increase compared with the average daily number of arrivals over the remainder of the month (8,800).
When data from Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal 1 are excluded from the total arrivals (see Note to readers), non-resident arrivals in March were higher (+8.4%) than the pre-COVID-19 pandemic level observed in March 2019.
Infographic 1
Trips to Canada by commercial aircraft, by country of residence, March 2024
Chart 1
Non-resident trips to Canada by commercial aircraft, March, 2019 to 2024
Canadian-resident return trips by air
In March, Canadian-resident return trips from abroad by air stood at 2.2 million, up 8.3% from March 2023. During the Saint Patrick's Day weekend, there were 161,400 arrivals from Saturday, March 16, to Sunday, March 17, 2024, surpassing the average of the remaining four weekends of the month (147,500) by 9.5%.
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 March was 18.1% higher than the 1.4 million trips recorded in March 2019, before the pandemic.
Chart 2
Canadian-resident return trips from abroad by commercial aircraft, March, 2019 to 2024
US-resident trips to Canada by automobile
In March 2024, the number of US-resident trips to Canada by automobile reached 862,100, up 24.3% from the 693,800 trips recorded in the same month in 2023. Over the three days before Easter, March 28 to March 30, 2024, there was a rise in the average daily number of US-resident arrivals (47,400). This represents an 84.1% increase compared with the average daily number of arrivals over the remainder of the month (25,700).
The number of arrivals by automobile in March represented 98.4% of that observed in March 2019.
Infographic 2
Trips to Canada by automobile, by country of residence, March 2024
Chart 3
United States-resident trips to Canada by automobile, March, 2019 to 2024
Canadian-resident return trips by automobile
In March 2024, the number of Canadian-resident return trips from visiting the United States by automobile totalled 2.1 million, an increase of 23.3% compared with the same month one year earlier. During the Saint Patrick's Day weekend, 233,600 arrivals were observed from Saturday, March 16, to Sunday, March 17, surpassing the average of the remaining four weekends of the month (179,300) by 30.3%.
In March, the number of Canadian-resident return trips by automobile reached 92.1% of the 2.3 million trips observed in the same month in 2019.
Chart 4
Canadian-resident return trips from the United States by automobile, March, 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 March 2024. Complete counts for the March reference month will be available with the release of "Travel between Canada and other countries" on May 23, 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 January 2024 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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