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Transportation in Canada 2000 |
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9
TRANSPORTATION AND TOURISM
Tourism Expenditures
Tourism Spending in Canada
Tourism spending in Canada falls under two categories - spending
by Canadians and spending by foreign visitors. Domestic expenditures
relate to tourism spending by Canadians in Canada, while export
expenditures (or tourism exports) relate to spending by foreign
visitors in Canada.
Spending on tourism in Canada reached $50.1 billion in 1999,
up 6.5 per cent from 1998. This growth continued in 2000, with
tourism expenditures in the first three quarters reaching $19.5
billion, up 7.2 per cent from the same period in 1999. A rise
in the price of fuel resulted in an increase in spending on transportation
relative to spending on non-transportation. Figure 9-1 shows the
trends in the distribution of tourism spending over the last 15
years.
Spending on Transportation
Tourism expenditures on transportation totalled $20.1 billion
in 1999, up 8.5 per cent from 1998, when it rose five per
cent over the previous year. The increase in the price of fuel
was the main factor behind the increase in spending on transportation.
Transportation spending accounted for 40.1 per cent of all tourism
spending in 1999, up from 39.3 per cent in 1998.
Spending on air transportation was $11.6 billion, an 9.6 per
cent increase from 1998. It made up 57.7 per cent of total transportation
tourism spending. Tourism spending on motor vehicle transportation
made up 34.5 per cent of the total in 1999. The amount spent
on vehicle fuel rose 11.1 per cent in 1999 after falling 2.6 per cent
in 1998. Intercity bus transportation accounted for 3.1 per cent
and rail for 1.2 per cent of total tourism spending on transportation,
while spending on other forms of transportation, including water
transport, urban transit, taxi and parking, made up 3.6 per cent.
Table 9-1 shows tourism spending on transportation in relation
to other tourist goods in 1999.
Distribution of Spending
Of the total $50.1 billion in tourism expenditures in Canada
in 1999, Canadians spent 69 per cent, or $34.8 billion. Foreign
visitors spent 31 per cent of the total, continuing the upward
trend of the past few years in the foreign proportion of tourism
spending. Foreign spending rose 7.7 per cent in 1999, compared
with a six per cent rise in domestic spending in 1999.
In the first three quarters of 2000, domestic demand strengthened
relative to foreign demand, as domestic spending rose 7.7 per
cent while foreign spending rose 6.2 per cent.
In 1999, tourism spending by non-residents rose in all regions
at least eight per cent, with the exception of Ontario, where
it rose only 3.2 per cent. Although Ontario had the
lowest percentage increase in non-resident tourism spending, it
accounts for almost 40 per cent of total spending. Atlantic Canada
had an increase of 26 per cent, the highest of any region
in Canada. This was due to increased spending by both US tourists
(16.7 per cent) and other foreign visitors (44.1 per cent).
In Quebec, expenditures by US tourists rose 17 per cent, while
expenditures by tourists from other countries fell 1.5 per cent.
Ontario had a small increase in spending by tourists from all
areas. Spending by foreign tourists in Manitoba and Saskatchewan
rose 16.6 per cent and 22.3 per cent, respectively.
While both types of foreign spending rose sharply, the total expenditures
in Manitoba and Saskatchewan make up only three per cent of the
total spending in all regions. Foreign tourism spending rose by
about nine per cent in both Alberta and British Columbia. Figure
9-2 shows the regional distribution of tourism spending on overnight
trips by non-residents in 1999.
The Travel Account and International Passenger Fares
The international travel account looks at the spending of foreign
visitors travelling in Canada and compares it with the value of
what Canadians are spending when they travel outside the country.
Figure 9-3 shows the balance of Canada's international travel
account between 1980 and 2000.
Travel Deficits
Canada's travel deficit rose by 28.1 per cent in 2000 to $2.23
billion, reversing the decrease of the previous three years. This
increase reflects the fact that Canadian spending outside Canada
rose at a greater rate than spending by foreigners in Canada.
Canadians spent $18 billion outside the country in 2000, up
6.1 per cent. Foreign tourists spent $15.7 billion in Canada,
an increase of only 4.2 per cent. Canadians increased their spending
in the United States by 4.7 per cent to $11.2 billion,
while Americans increased their spending in Canada by 2.9 per
cent to $9.5 billion. The travel deficit with the United States
rose 16.1 per cent to $1.7 billion. Canada's travel deficit with
other countries also rose, as Canadians spent $6.5 billion, or
10.1 per cent more, abroad in 2000. Overseas visitors
increased their expenditures in Canada by 6.2 per cent to $6.2
billion. The overseas travel deficit increased by 86 per
cent to $557 million.
International Passenger Fares
Canadians increased their purchases by 9.2 per cent
to $4.06 billion of passenger fares from foreign carriers in 2000,
while Canadian carriers sold $3.12 billion in passenger fares
to foreign travellers, a 15.5 per cent increase. The
result was a 7.8 per cent decline to $934 million
deficit in this account. Air fares accounted for almost all of
these transactions, with Canadians purchasing $3.81 billion worth
from foreign carriers. On the other side of the equation, Canadian
air carriers sold $3.08 billion in air fares to foreign travellers.
For land transportation, Canadians spent $93 million on passenger
fares from foreign carriers, while foreign travellers spent $33
million on fares from Canadian carriers. Payments for US water
transportation by Canadians totalled $95 million in 2000, while
USresidents paid $15 million. Two million dollars worth of US
rail fares were purchased by Canadians, while US residents bought
$7 million worth.
Tourism Expenditures
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