National Travel Survey, first quarter 2024
Released: 2024-08-28
Highlights
During the first quarter, Canadian residents took 66.3 million trips in Canada and abroad, down 0.3% from the same quarter of 2023 (66.5 million) but up 4.3% from the same quarter of 2019 (63.5 million). Most (85.6%) of the trips taken in the first quarter of 2024 were domestic, while 9.0% were trips to the United States and 5.4% were trips taken overseas.
Domestic travel decreases in the first quarter
In the first quarter, Canadian residents took 56.8 million domestic trips, down 2.5% from the first quarter of 2023 (58.2 million) but up 4.6% from the same quarter of 2019 (54.2 million), before the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of domestic overnight trips was 17.9 million in the first quarter of 2024, while the number of same-day trips totalled 38.9 million.
Most of the domestic trips taken by Canadian residents in the first quarter were to visit friends or relatives (24.1 million) or for holiday, leisure or recreation (18.5 million).
Canadian residents who took domestic trips in the first quarter reported participating in, among other activities, downhill skiing or snowboarding (3.5 million trips included this activity); hiking or backpacking (2.3 million); and visiting a national, provincial, or nature park (2.1 million).
From January to March, Canadian residents spent $13.2 billion on domestic travel, down 3.0% from the first quarter of 2023 ($13.7 billion) but up 27.6% from the same quarter of 2019 ($10.4 billion). The average spending per domestic trip was $233 ($112 for same-day trips and $496 for overnight trips) in the first quarter of 2024, with overnight trips having an average length of 2.8 nights. The top three domestic trip expenditure categories were accommodations ($2.8 billion), vehicle operations ($2.5 billion), and restaurants and bars ($2.3 billion).
Travel to the United States slows in the first quarter
Canadian residents took 6.0 million trips to the United States from January to March, down 1.2% from the first quarter of 2023 and reaching 99.7% of the number reported in the same quarter of 2019, before the pandemic. The most reported purposes for trips to the United States in the first quarter of 2024 were holiday, leisure or recreation (2.9 million) and visiting friends or relatives (1.1 million).
Total expenditures by Canadian residents during trips to the United States reached $7.0 billion in the first quarter, a decrease of 5.9% from the same quarter of 2023 ($7.4 billion) and a 25.6% increase from the first quarter of 2019 ($5.6 billion). In the first quarter of 2024, Canadian residents spent an average of $1,174 per trip to the United States, with an average trip length of 4.9 nights. Spending was highest on accommodations ($2.7 billion) and at restaurants and bars ($1.3 billion).
Overseas travel continues to exceed pre-pandemic level
From January to March, Canadian residents returned from 3.5 million trips overseas. This was an increase of 58.9% from the first quarter of 2023 (2.2 million) and an increase of 8.1% from the same quarter of 2019 (3.3 million). Most Canadian residents who reported travelling overseas in the first quarter of 2024 did so for holiday, leisure or recreational purposes (2.6 million) or to visit friends or relatives (660,400).
Mexico (955,700 visits), the Dominican Republic (405,800), and Cuba (354,700) were the top three overseas countries visited by Canadian residents during the first quarter.
Canadian-resident visitors spent $7.8 billion overseas in the first quarter, up 59.7% from the same quarter of 2023 ($4.9 billion) and up 44.9% from the same quarter of 2019 ($5.4 billion).
In the first quarter of 2024, Canadian residents spent an average of $2,199 per trip overseas, and the average length of trips was 13.6 nights. Canadian residents spent the most on accommodations ($3.6 billion) and at restaurants and bars ($1.7 billion) while travelling overseas.
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Note to readers
The National Travel Survey collects information about the domestic and international travel of Canadian residents.
All spending estimates are based on visit expenditures; domestic visit expenditures include commercial air expenditures incurred at the point of origin of the trip.
The Variable of Interest Tables have been created to provide data of travel and demographic characteristics of the National Travel Survey. They are based on visit, expenditure, and visit-night statistics. They are annual tables (2018 to 2023) available at provincial, tourism region and census metropolitan area and census agglomeration area levels. These tables are available upon request.
Beginning in 2024, updates were made to some country names to align with the 2022 Standard Classification of Countries and Areas of Interest.
The target population is the civilian, non-institutionalized population 18 years of age and older in Canada's provinces, excluding people living on Indian reserves and in the territories. Routine trips taken by commuters and diplomatic or military personnel are out of scope.
Domestic trips are made by travellers residing in Canada who travelled inside Canada for a period of less than 12 months before returning to their place of residence.
Same-day trips or visits take place within the same calendar day—that is, the traveller left and returned home on the same day—and must be a distance of 40 km or more away (one way).
Trips abroad are made by travellers residing in Canada who travelled outside Canada for a period of less than 12 months before returning to Canada. Foreign citizens who are residing in Canada and travel abroad are included as Canadian resident travellers.
A trip abroad for people residing in Canada starts when they cross the border to exit Canada and ends when they first re-enter Canada.
Trips and visits: A trip can consist of one or more visits. A Canadian traveller on a trip abroad may cross into several countries or US states before being recorded as having re-entered Canada. Each of these crossings represents a visit. Similarly, a Canadian resident travelling in Canada may stay in several locations during their trip. Each stay at a Canadian location (for example, a province) within a given trip represents a visit.
Readers are encouraged to review the concepts, definitions, data sources, methods, limitations, and summary of changes for the National Travel Survey, especially when making historical comparisons and examining specific regions.
Recent data on international travel by Canadian residents are available from the monthly "Travel between Canada and other countries." To explore current and historical data on arrivals in Canada, in an interactive format, please visit the Frontier Counts: Interactive Dashboard.
Products
Data from the first quarter of 2024 from the National Travel Survey are now available. Other tables, including statistical profiles of Canadian travellers, are available upon request.
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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