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TRANSPORTATION AND TOURISM

Travel Overview

Domestic Travel

Due to a reworking of the Labour Force Survey, which is used by the Canadian Travel Survey, no domestic travel data was available for 2000 at the time of publication.

International Travel

In 2001, 90.3 million international travellers crossed Canadian borders, 5.7 per cent fewer than in 2000. All types of international travel declined except for Canadian travellers to countries other than the United States. Also in 2001, 43.2 million Canadians travelled outside Canada, 8.4 per cent fewer than in 2000, while 42.9 million Americans came to Canada, a drop of 2.6 per cent and 4.3 million overseas visitors came to Canada, a 7.9 per cent drop. Table 8-2 gives an overview of international travel in 2000 and 2001, and Figure 8-4 illustrates these trends over a longer period.

Canada - US Travel

In 2001, total Canada-United States travel fell sharply in both directions, by 6.3 per cent, to 81.2 million. The largest drop was observed in Canadian same-day trips, which fell by 8.1 per cent and made up only 64.2 per cent of all transborder trips. As figures 8-5 and 8-6 show, there was a sharp decline in transborder travel following the events of September 11, with a partial recovery in November and December.

Reflecting the impacts of September 11, the change in the value of the Canadian dollar relative to the US currency and the economic slowdown, same-day trips by Canadians in 2001 fell by 11.3 per cent to 24.9 million, while American same-day travel fell by five per cent to 27.3 million. Overnight trips by Canadians fell by 7.7 per cent to 13.5 million, while overnight trips by Americans rose two per cent to 15.5 million. For the fourth year in a row, American overnight trips to Canada exceeded overnight trips in the opposite direction.

Distribution of Travel

In 2000, the most recent year for which annual data is available, the most popular destination for Canadians visiting the United States were generally unchanged from those in 1999. New York and Michigan accounted for 18 and eight per cent, respectively, of the total same-day visits, while Pennsylvania and Vermont each accounted for six per cent. The top States for overnight stays remained New York (12 per cent of total trips in 2000), Florida (ten per cent), Washington (eight per cent), Michigan (six per cent) and California (five per cent). In the third quarter of 2001, the border States received fewer visitors from Canada. New York remained the most popular destination but received 9.2 per cent fewer visitors than in the third quarter of 2000.

In 2000, the Atlantic Provinces, Quebec and British Columbia all received record numbers of overnight visitors from the United States. Ontario remained the most popular province by far for Americans, accounting for 46 per cent of the overnight trips. However, 2000 was the second year in a row with a decline. British Columbia accounted for 24 per cent and Quebec for 14 per cent of American overnight visitors, while six per cent went to Alberta and seven per cent to the Atlantic Provinces.

Figure 8-7 shows the number of non-residents entering Canada and staying overnight, by province, from 1998 to 2000.

Purpose of Travel

In 2000, the purposes for which travel between Canada and the United States were undertaken remained consistent with previous years. More than half (53 per cent) of Canadian overnight trips were for pleasure-related purposes, as were US overnight trips (56 per cent). Trips to visit friends and relatives made up 20 per cent of the trips by Canadians and 19 per cent of US trips, while business trips made up 19 per cent of Canadian trips and 16 per cent of US trips. However, business trips fell dramatically in the third quarter of 2001, following the events of September 11, 2001. The number of Canadians going to the United States for business fell 21.9 per cent from the third quarter of 2000, while the number of Americans coming to Canada on business fell 27.2 per cent.

Means of Travel

The events of September 11 caused shifts in the modal choice of travel between the United States and Canada. There were declines in all major categories other than overnight trips by Americans by car, but the declines were greatest in air travel.

The number of Canadians on overnight trips to the United States by air fell by 708,000 person-trips, or 13.2 per cent in 2001, while overnight trips by automobile fell by 374,000 person-trips, or 4.7 per cent. Consequently, the modal share of air fell to 34.4 per cent from 36.5, reversing the increase in air's modal share that occurred over the past decade. Automobile's share rose from 54.4 per cent to 56.2 per cent. US overnight trips by air fell by 124,000 person-trips, or 3.2 per cent, while overnight trips by automobile increased by 431,000 person-trips, or 4.6 per cent. Air's share of American overnight trips fell to 24.1 per cent from 25.4 per cent, while automobile trips share rose to 63.7 per cent from 62.1 per cent.

There was no change in the modal proportions for same-day travel, and the automobile remained the dominant mode. In 2001, the automobile accounted for 96.8 per cent of Canadian trips and 92.6 per cent of American trips. Bus transport was the next most important, accounting for 2.4 per cent of Canadian trips and 3.6 per cent of US trips.

Table 8-3 shows the means of travel for both overnight and same-day trips between Canada and the US in 2001.

Travel Between Canada and Other Countries Than the United States

Overseas Travel to Canada

The number of overseas visitors to Canada declined in 2001 by 7.9 per cent to 4.32 million after increasing for the past two years. This decline reflects the economic slowdown and the September 11 events. The number of visitors from both Asia and Europe fell. The declines were very widespread with only increases in the number of visitors from a few countries including China, India, South Korea and Mexico. The number of visitors from Asia fell 8.9 per cent. Visitors from Japan declined 16.9 per cent to 449,000, reflecting the decline in the yen and the Japanese recession. The number of visitors from Taiwan fell by 27.9 per cent to 157,000 and those from Hong Kong fell by 10.4 per cent to 130,000. Only 2.3 million visitors, a reduction of 8.5 per cent, came from Europe. While the number of visitors from the United Kingdom only fell by 4.9 per cent to 876,000, the numbers from France and Germany fell, respectively, by 11.6 per cent to 368,000 and by 13.7 per cent to 360,000. Figures 8-8 and 8-9 show some important exchange rates and international visitor flows and Figure 8-10 shows the country of origin of the visitors to Canada in the last three years.

Distribution of Travel

Figure 8-7 shows the destination of overseas visitors by region for 2000. The number of visitors to all regions increased over 1999. Overseas visitors to the Atlantic Provinces increased by 10.7 per cent while those to British Columbia only grew by 0.6 per cent. The regional shares remained stable, with Ontario attracting the largest proportion, 33 per cent of the overseas visitors, British Columbia 24 per cent and Quebec 18 per cent. Alberta was the destination for 14 per cent and Atlantic Canada for seven per cent of overseas visitors with the remaining three per cent going to Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Canadian Travel Overseas

In contrast to the decline in overseas visitors in 2001, Canadians increased their visits to countries other than the United States. These trips increased by seven per cent following an increase of 6.2 per cent in 2000. Trips to Europe increased by 7.9 per cent in 2000, the most recent year for which destination information is available. Trips to the United Kingdom, the most popular foreign country of destination for Canadians, fell by two per cent but trips to Germany jumped 22 per cent and trips to France rose eight per cent. Trips to Mexico, the second most popular destination jumped by 20 per cent while trips to Cuba fell by 22 per cent after almost doubling in 1999. The number of cruise trips rose by 4.2 per cent. Figure 8-11 shows the destinations for Canadian travel for the years, 1998 to 2000.

Overseas Travel: Purpose and Mode of Travel

Pleasure trips continue to make up the greatest proportion of trips by Canadians overseas accounting for 59.6 per cent in 2000; this proportion is almost unchanged from the previous year. Similarly the proportion of trips for visiting friends and relatives remained almost the same at 17.8 per cent as the proportion for business at 16.9 per cent. The purposes of trips by overseas visitors also remained unchanged in 2000 compared with 1999. Pleasure trips were the most important, with a 49.1 per cent share of total trips. Visiting friends and relatives was the main purpose for 28.4 per cent of trips, a share ten per cent higher than for Canadians travelling. Business trips made up 17.8 per cent of trips, almost the same as for Canadian overseas trips.

Air is the most common means of transport for trips to and from overseas countries accounting for 83.4 per cent of trips by foreign visitors and almost 100 per cent of Canadians returning from abroad. The number of overseas visitors entering Canada by land from the United States fell by 19 per cent to 618,000, reducing the share of such visitors to 14.5 per cent, compared with the 16.4 per cent share in 2000 and down from the 30 per cent share observed in the early 1990s. Corresponding with this decline the percentage entering by air rose from 81.8 per cent to 83.4 per cent. There was an increase in the share of overseas visitors flying directly to Canada rather than via the United States -- rising to 63.3 per cent from 61.8 per cent -- this share has risen sharply in the last five years from the just over 50 per cent of the early 1990s. While the number of Canadians taking trips overseas rose in 2001, the number of Canadians returning via the United States fell by 2.7 per cent.

TRANSPORTATION AND TOURISM

Tourism Expenditures

Travel Overview