Travel between Canada and other countries, May 2024

Released: 2024-07-23

Highlights

In May, the number of non-resident visitors to Canada accounted for 95.7% of the number observed in May 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. US residents took 2.1 million trips to Canada in May 2024, and residents of overseas countries took 615,600 trips.

The number of returning Canadian residents reached 93.1% of the level recorded in May 2019 as Canadian residents returned from 4.4 million trips abroad in May 2024.

Using seasonally adjusted data, compared with April, the number of non-resident arrivals in Canada decreased 4.0% in May and returning Canadian-resident arrivals decreased 0.6%.

To further explore current and historical data in an interactive format, please visit the Frontier Counts: Interactive Dashboard.

Trips to Canada by US residents

In May, US residents took 2.1 million trips to Canada, up 13.1% from the 1.8 million trips taken during the same month in 2023 and reaching 97.1% of the level observed in May 2019 (2.1 million), before the pandemic.

In May 2024, 61.1% of US residents visiting Canada arrived by automobile (1.3 million arrivals) and almost half (49.7%) of those were same-day trips. Arrivals by automobile were up 12.3% year over year and represented 91.2% of such trips recorded in May 2019. US residents also took trips crossing over Canadian land borders in May 2024 by other means, such as by bus (65,300), by train (20,300), or as pedestrians (16,300).

Air arrivals (478,300) constituted nearly one-quarter (23.1%) of all trips to Canada taken by US residents in May. Those arrivals increased 20.3% from the same month in 2023 and exceeded such trips taken in May 2019 by 1.7%.

In May 2024, the most frequented points of entry by US residents entering Canada by automobile were near Niagara (including Niagara Falls and Fort Erie), near Vancouver (including Douglas and Pacific Highway in Surrey), and in Southwestern Ontario (including Windsor and Sarnia). Together, these were the points of entry for 69.0% of all such trips.

In May, the busiest points of entry by air were in Toronto (including Toronto Pearson International Airport and Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport), Vancouver, Montréal, and Calgary. Combined, these points of entry represented 91.9% of all US-resident arrivals by air in Canada.

Trips to Canada by overseas residents

In May, 615,600 overseas residents arrived in Canada, an increase of 12.9% from the 545,200 overseas arrivals observed in the same month in 2023. The number of overseas-resident arrivals in Canada in May 2024 made up 91.3% of the 673,900 arrivals recorded in May 2019. Most (76.8%) of the overseas residents arriving in May 2024 flew into Canada (472,800 arrivals).

The top three countries where overseas visitors to Canada resided in—the United Kingdom (77,800), India (77,600), and France (51,500)—together represented just over one-third (33.6%) of all overseas arrivals in Canada in May. Arrivals from Mexico declined 32.2% year over year, possibly attributable to more restrictive visa requirements for Mexican nationals seeking to enter Canada, introduced earlier this year.

In May, overseas residents arrived in Canada most frequently at airports located in Toronto, Vancouver, Montréal, and Calgary. Combined, these airports welcomed 96.8% of all overseas-resident arrivals by air.

Trips abroad by Canadian residents

Canadian residents returned from 4.4 million trips abroad in May, increasing 12.2% from May 2023 (3.9 million) and reaching 93.1% of such trips taken during the same month in 2019 (4.7 million).

Trips to the United States by automobile (2.4 million) in May 2024 represented more than half (54.3%) of the total trips taken abroad by Canadian residents, and almost two-thirds (65.6%) of those automobile trips to the United States were same-day trips. Canadian residents returning by automobile from a visit to the United States increased by 12.3% year over year and represented 85.6% of such trips taken in May 2019.

In May 2024, Canadian residents flew back to Canada from 1.9 million trips abroad, which represented 42.5% of the total trips taken by Canadian residents. Air arrivals in May were 12.1% higher compared with the same month a year earlier and exceeded such arrivals recorded in May 2019 by 4.9%.

The busiest points of entry for Canadian residents returning from the United States by automobile in May 2024 were near Vancouver, in Southwestern Ontario, and near Niagara. Combined, these points of entry represented 61.2% of such trips.

The busiest airports for Canadian residents returning home from abroad in May were in Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, and Calgary. Combined, these airports represented 92.5% of all air arrivals of Canadian residents from abroad.

Seasonally adjusted arrivals

Tourism is influenced by seasonal effects (e.g., actual seasons and holidays such as Canada Day and Thanksgiving) and by calendar effects (e.g., number of weekends in a month). All statistics in this section are based on seasonally adjusted data (for more information, please see the Note to readers).

In May, the number of arrivals in Canada by US residents decreased 5.9% compared with April, following three consecutive months of increases. US-resident arrivals in Canada by air in May decreased month over month by 0.5%, while the number of US residents arriving in Canada by automobile decreased by 7.6%. US-resident same-day automobile trips to Canada decreased by 3.2% and overnight automobile trips dropped by 11.5%. US residents entering Canada by modes other than air and automobile (e.g., bus, ferry, and train) decreased 7.0% from April.

The number of overseas-resident arrivals in Canada in May increased 2.8% compared with the previous month, bolstered by increases in arrivals from the Americas (excluding the United States) (+14.3%) and arrivals from Asia (+6.1%). At the same time, this increase was weakened by a decrease in arrivals from Europe (-1.9%).

Arrivals by residents of Europe—the largest overseas market, with 44.4% of the total overseas arrivals in Canada—decreased 1.9% from April, a result of decreased arrivals from France (-4.4%), the United Kingdom (-3.0%), and Germany (-1.1%).

In May, arrivals of residents from Asia—the second-largest overseas market, with 30.6% of the total overseas arrivals in Canada—increased 6.1% from April, supported by gains in visitors from India (+9.8%), the country which had the most arrivals in terms of total trips, followed by increases in the number of visitors from the Philippines (+14.0%), China (+2.9%), and South Korea (+2.4%).

The Americas (excluding the United States) ranked as the third-largest overseas market in May, with 15.0% of the total overseas arrivals, and increased 14.3% from April, mostly due to increases in visitors from Colombia (+19.6%), Brazil (+18.5%), and Mexico (+7.6%).

Canadian residents returning from a trip abroad in May decreased 0.6% from April. Canadian-resident arrivals from overseas countries decreased month over month (-2.3%) in May and the number of Canadian residents returning from trips to the United States decreased by 0.1%.

Among Canadian residents who visited the United States, increases were seen in trips to the United States by air (+5.8%) in May, while the number of Canadian-resident return trips by land declined by 2.2%.

Chart 1 
Non-resident visitors entering Canada, May 2018 to May 2024

Chart 2 
Canadian residents returning to Canada from abroad, May 2018 to May 2024

Products

The product "Frontier Counts: Interactive Dashboard," part of the Data Visualization Products series (Catalogue number71-607-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).