Leading indicator of international arrivals to Canada, September 2024
Released: 2024-10-11
Highlights
In September, the preliminary number of international arrivals to Canada by air and automobile reached 5.7 million, up 4.5% from September 2023.
By air, the number of non-resident arrivals in Canada totalled 1.0 million in September 2024, up 3.6% year over year. Meanwhile, the number of Canadian-resident return trips from abroad by air reached 1.4 million, a 9.2% increase from September 2023.
By automobile, US residents took 1.1 million trips to Canada in September 2024, down 6.1% from the same month in 2023. The number of Canadian-resident return trips from the United States by automobile rose, up 8.2% year over year, to reach 2.1 million trips in September 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 September, non-resident arrivals in Canada by air totalled 1.0 million, up 3.6% year over year. These include arrivals by US residents (480,900) and residents of countries other than the United States (496,000). The highest number of arrivals per day (40,400) was observed on September 13, and the lowest (22,900) was seen on September 29.
When data from Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal 1 are excluded from the total arrivals (see Note to readers), non-resident arrivals in September represented 93.5% of the volume in September 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic (Chart 1).
Infographic 1
Trips to Canada by commercial aircraft, by country of residence, September 2024
Chart 1
Non-resident trips to Canada by commercial aircraft, September, 2019 to 2024
Canadian-resident return trips by air
In September 2024, Canadian-resident return trips by air stood at 1.4 million, up 9.2% from the same month one year earlier. The highest number of arrivals per day (69,600) was observed on Labour Day, September 2, surpassing the daily average of the remaining four Mondays of the month by 32.6%.
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 September was 12.7% higher than the number of trips recorded in September 2019, before the pandemic (Chart 2).
Chart 2
Canadian-resident return trips from abroad by commercial aircraft, September, 2019 to 2024
US-resident trips to Canada by automobile
In September 2024, the number of US-resident trips to Canada by automobile was 1.1 million, down 6.1% from the 1.2 million trips recorded in the same month in 2023. There were 63,900 US-resident arrivals on Sunday, September 1, the day before Labour Day. This surpasses the daily average observed for the rest of the month by 75.2%.
The total number of US-resident arrivals in Canada by automobile in September represented 90.6% of the level observed in September 2019 (Chart 3).
Infographic 2
Trips to Canada by automobile, by country of residence, September 2024
Chart 3
United States-resident trips to Canada by automobile, September, 2019 to 2024
Canadian-resident return trips by automobile
In September 2024, the number of Canadian-resident return trips from visits to the United States by automobile totalled 2.1 million, an increase of 8.2% compared with the same month one year earlier. On Labour Day, September 2, the highest number of trips (181,800) was observed, surpassing the daily average of the remaining four Mondays of the month by 161.1%.
In September, the number of Canadian-resident return trips by automobile reached 92.8% of the number of trips observed in the same month in 2019 (Chart 4).
Chart 4
Canadian-resident return trips from the United States by automobile, September, 2019 to 2024
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Note to readers
This release provides an early indicator of travel based on preliminary data on international arrivals to Canada in September 2024. Complete counts for the September reference month will be available with the release of "Travel between Canada and other countries" on November 22, 2024.
In July 2024, updates were made to some country names to align with the Variant of the Standard Classification of Countries and Areas of Interest 2022 for Travel Statistics.
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 to 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.
Selected estimates from the Canadian Tourism Activity Tracker for July 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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