Characteristics of international travellers, fourth quarter 2002 and annual 2002

The number of overnight trips taken in Canada by foreign residents continued to advance (2.0%) in 2002. A record number of close to 20 million foreign visitors crossed our borders in 2002. Americans accounted for four out of every five travellers, or about 16.2 million. About 3.8 million tourists came from overseas countries in 2002, down 5.3% from 2001. In 2002, Canadians made 13.0 million overnight trips to the United States, down 3.7% from 2001. Overall, the number of overnight trips to overseas destinations decreased 3.1% in 2002, compared with 2001.