The Canadian Tourism Performance provides a summary of the aggregate performance of Canada’s tourism sector in terms of both volume and value. This fact sheet includes data primarily from the following sources: International Travel Survey, Travel Survey of Residents of Canada, National Tourism Indicators and Tourism Satellite Account.
Inbound Tourist Trips to Canada
| |
Volume |
Change Over 2005 |
| U.S. |
13,856 |
-3.7% |
| Overseas |
4,272 |
1.2% |
| Total Inbound |
18,128 |
-2.6% |
Tourist Trips from Major Overseas Markets
| |
Volume |
Change over 2005 |
| United Kingdom |
842 |
-5.2% |
| France |
361 |
2.8% |
| Germany |
298 |
-4.2% |
| Japan |
364 |
-8.5% |
| Total Europe |
2,304 |
-1.2% |
| Total Asia Pacific |
1,384 |
1.5% |
| Total Latin America |
487 |
9.7% |
Outbound Tourist Trips by Canadians
| |
Volume |
Change Over 2005 |
| International Canadian Outbound Travel |
22,731 |
7.8% |
| To the U.S. |
15,992 |
7.6% |
| To Overseas |
6,739 |
8.2% |
International Travel Account
| |
Millions of $ |
Change Over 2005 |
| Receipts |
16,598 |
-0.5% |
| Payments |
23,311 |
5.7% |
| Balance |
-6,713 |
24.7% |
Tourism Spending in Canada
Total tourism expenditures reached $66.8 billion, an increase of 6.5% over 2005. Domestic spending continued to be the engine for growth for Canadian tourism accounting for three-quarters of the total.
Total tourism results were positive across all tourism commodities, with spending on accommodation up 7.6%, passenger air transportation up 9.5%, and food and beverage services up 6.3%.
Spending by Canadians traveling in Canada reached $50.3 billion, up 10.1% from 2001.
Foreign spending had a decline of 3.2% from the previous year, totaling $16.5 billion. This decline was a result of the 2.7% drop in international overnight visitors, primarily impacted by fewer American visitors.
Tourism GDP
As a percentage of total economy, tourism gross domestic product at basic prices reached 2.0% or $27.4 billion in 2006.
Government Revenues
In 2006, tourism represented 3.9% of total government revenues, generating $19.4 billion1 of revenue for all three levels of government in Canada.
- Federal government: $9.1 billion
- Provincial/Territorial government: $9.3 billion
- Municipal government: $1.1 billion
Employment Generated by Tourism in Canada
Total tourism employment reached 633,600 full and part-time jobs in 2006, up 1.9% from the previous year.
Inbound Travel to Canada
Foreigners made 18.3 million overnight trips to Canada in 2006, representing a 2.7% decrease over 2005. The number of trips by Americans decreased by 3.7% to 13.9 million. Overnight trips by overseas residents increased by 0.7% to 4.4 million, despite declines by Japan, Germany, the UK and Australia.
Canada Outbound Travel
Total outbound travel by Canadian residents increased sharply by 6.5% in 2006 to 46.9 million overnight trips. The number of overnight trips made by Canadians to the U.S. increased by 7.6% to 16.0 million. Travel to overseas countries increased, reaching 6.7 million overnight trips, up 8.0% over 2005.
Canada’s Travel Account
The total travel deficit increased to $6.7 billion in 2006, up 24.7% over 2005 - almost double the deficit reached in 1996. This significant increase in the travel deficit was mainly driven by the sharp decline in receipts from U.S. travelers in combination with record spending by Canadians abroad.
World Tourism Organization (WTO) International Ranking
According to the latest available WTO data, Canada is one of the most popular destinations in the world, holding the 12th position in 2006 in terms of tourist arrivals, representing a 2.2% share of the global international tourism travel market. In 2006, Canada ranked 11th in international tourism receipts.
Sources: National Tourism Indicators, International Travel Survey, and the World Tourism Organization.
Notes: All trips refer to overnight trips.
For more information about the Canadian Tourism Performance please contact Murielle Ballantyne at (604) 638-8328 or at ballantyne.murielle@ctc-cct.ca.
1 Due to rounding, figures may not add up to totals.
