National Travel Survey, fourth quarter 2024

Released: 2025-05-30

Highlights

During the fourth quarter, Canadian residents took 80.3 million trips in Canada and abroad, up 7.7% from the same quarter in 2023. Most of the trips from October to December 2024 were domestic (88.4%), followed by trips to the United States (8.2%) and overseas (3.4%).

Domestic travel

In the fourth quarter of 2024, Canadian residents took 71.0 million domestic trips, up 7.8% from the same quarter in 2023. The number of overnight trips totalled 26.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, while the number of same-day trips was 45.1 million.

Canadian residents frequently cited the main purpose of their trip in the fourth quarter as visiting friends or relatives (45.7%), followed by holiday, leisure or recreation (30.3%).

From October to December, Canadian residents spent $16.2 billion on domestic travel, up 11.0% from the fourth quarter of 2023. In the fourth quarter of 2024, the average amount spent per domestic trip was $228 ($106 for same-day trips and $440 for overnight trips), with an average trip length of 1.0 nights. The top expenditure categories were accommodations (18.6%) vehicle operations (18.4%) and restaurants and bars (17.6%).

Travel to the United States

Canadian residents took 6.6 million trips to the United States from October to December, up 4.2% from the fourth quarter of 2023. The number of overnight trips to the United States was 3.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 (down 7.5% compared with the same period in 2023), while the number of same-day trips totalled 3.2 million (up 20.4% year over year).

In the fourth quarter, the main trip purpose reported by Canadian residents was holiday, leisure or recreation (42.6%), followed by visiting friends or relatives (21.0%) and taking a non-routine shopping trip (19.4%).

Total expenditures by Canadian residents during trips to the United States reached $5.6 billion in the fourth quarter, down 7.0% from the same quarter in 2023. The decline can be partly explained by fewer overnight trips; a decline in overnight trips usually results in less spending on accommodations. In the fourth quarter of 2024, Canadian residents spent an average of $851 per trip to the United States ($146 for same-day trips and $1,508 for overnight trips), with an average trip length of 3.2 nights. Accommodations (36.0%) and spending in restaurants and bars (19.5%) represented the main expenditure categories.

Overseas travel

From October to December, Canadian residents returned from 2.7 million trips overseas, up 12.6% from the fourth quarter of 2023. Most Canadian residents reported that the main purpose of their trip during the fourth quarter of 2024 was holiday, leisure or recreation (64.1%).

The top three overseas countries visited by Canadian residents were Mexico (456,000 visits), the Dominican Republic (240,000) and Italy (209,000).

Canadian visitors spent $6.2 billion overseas in the fourth quarter of 2024, up 23.9% from the same quarter in 2023. In the fourth quarter of 2024, they spent an average of $2,299 per trip overseas, with an average trip length of 13.2 nights. The highest expenditures were for accommodations (42.5%) and food and beverages purchased in restaurants and bars (21.3%).

2024 in review

In 2024, Canadian residents took a total of 330.8 million trips, including 292.1 million domestic trips and 38.7 million trips abroad, representing a 3.7% increase from 2023.

Throughout 2024, Canadian residents spent $74.8 billion while travelling domestically and $52.9 billion while travelling abroad, resulting in total tourism expenditures of $127.7 billion. This was a 4.9% increase compared with 2023.

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).