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 2004 |
| U.S. |
14,390 |
-4.6% |
| Overseas |
4,222 |
7.0% |
| Total Inbound |
18,612 |
-2.2% |
Tourist Trips from Major Overseas Markets
| |
Volume |
Change over 2004 |
| United Kingdom |
888 |
10.9% |
| France |
351 |
4.2% |
| Germany |
311 |
4.7% |
| Japan |
398 |
1.8% |
| Total Europe |
2,332 |
8.3% |
| Total Asia Pacific |
1,363 |
4.3% |
| Total Latin America |
444 |
10.4% |
Outbound Tourist Trips by Canadians
| |
Volume |
Change Over 2004 |
| International Canadian Outbound Travel |
21,090 |
7.6% |
| To the U.S. |
14,862 |
7.3% |
| To Overseas |
6,228 |
8.5% |
International Travel Account
| |
Millions of $ |
Change Over 2004 |
| Receipts |
16,674 |
-0.4% |
| Payments |
22,059 |
6.3% |
| Balance |
-5,385 |
34.6% |
Tourism Spending in Canada
Total tourism expenditures reached $62.7 billion, an increase of 6.7% over 2004. Spending by domestic tourists was the sole source of growth, while international spending declined primarily due to the downturn in US visitors to Canada.
Results were strong across several tourism commodities in 2005. Leading the way were spending on vehicle fuel (up 14.0%), air transportation (up 8.0%) and accommodation (up 7.9%).
Spending by Canadians traveling in Canada reached $45.7 billion, up 10.8% from 2004, the largest annual gain since 2000.
Foreign spending in 2005 declined 2.9% from the previous year, totaling $17.0 billion.
Tourism GDP
As a percentage of total economy, tourism gross domestic product at basic prices reached 2.0% or $25.7 billion in 2005.
Government Revenues
In 2005, tourism represented 3.9% of total government revenues, generating $18.5 billion of revenue for all three levels of government in Canada.
- Federal government: $8.8 billion
- Provincial/Territorial government: $8.7 billion
- Municipal government: $1.0 billion
Employment Generated by Tourism in Canada
Total tourism employment reached 621,600 full and part-time jobs in 2005, up 0.9% from the previous year.
Inbound Travel to Canada
Foreigners made 18.8 million overnight trips to Canada in 2005, representing a decrease of 2.0% over 2004. The number of trips by Americans decreased by 4.6 to 14.4 million. Overnight trips by overseas residents increased 8.0% to 4.4 million, where all key Asian-Pacific markets posted year-to-date January to December increases.
Canada Outbound Travel
Total outbound travel by Canadian residents increased by 7.7% in 2005 reaching a record 21.1 million overnight trips. The number of overnight trips made by Canadians to the U.S. increased by 7.3% to 14.9 million. Travel to overseas countries increased, reaching 6.2 million overnight trips, up 8.7% over 2004.
Canada’s Travel Account
The total travel deficit recorded the highest level since 1993, increasing from $4.0 billion in 2004 to an estimated $5.4 billion in 2005 (up 34.6%). The sharp increase in the deficit was fuelled mostly by Canadians’ record spending abroad, (up 6.3%), combined with lower spending by American residents in Canada (down 9.0%).
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 2005 in terms of tourist arrivals, representing a 2.3% share of the global international tourism travel market. In 2005, Canada ranked 12th 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.
