Annual Survey of Traveller Accommodation

Preliminary data for the traveller accommodation industry (which includes hotels and motor hotels, motels and other accommodation industries) are now available for 2003. These data provide information on revenue, expenses, salaries and wages, and profit margins.

The year 2003 was one of the worst experienced by the Canadian tourism industry. Tourism spending in Canada decreased by 2.7% in 2003 compared with a year earlier. Air transportation (-6.2%) and accommodation (-5.2%) were amongst the hardest hit. The number of foreign tourists travelling to Canada was down 13.3% in 2003 compared with a year earlier. The number of trips made by Canadians within the country also decreased (-8.3%) for the first time in the last five years. Adverse conditions such as the Iraq conflict and the unexpected outbreak of SARS and other public health hazards (bovine spongiform encephalopathy and West Nile Virus) had a depressing effect on travel worldwide. For the first time in over a decade, the Canadian dollar rose in value making it more expensive for foreign visitors to travel to Canada.

Occupancy rates dropped for all industries in accommodation in 2003 and hotels were no exception. Hotels experienced a continued decline in their demand for rooms as they registered an occupancy rate of 59%. This was the first time, in 10 years that the occupancy rate for hotels dipped below 60%.

The last time the accommodation industry experienced a drop in their revenues was right after the recession of the early 1990s. Overall, the traveller accommodation industry saw decreases in revenues and lower operating profits compared with the year before. Estimates for all traveller accommodation industries indicate that over 17,900 establishments generated $12.3 billion in operating revenue in 2003. In current dollars, this is a decrease of 3.6% from 2002. The hotels and motels group accounted for 89% of all traveller accommodation revenues, while other traveller accommodations like campgrounds, outfitters, cottages, and bed and breakfasts generated the remaining 11%.

The operating revenue of hotels and motels declined in most provinces, particularly in Ontario (-8.5%) and British Columbia (-6.6%). Ontario was faced with a power outage in August 2003 and hotels and motels in Toronto were hard hit due to SARS. Meanwhile, forest fires throughout the summer in British Columbia hurt tourism. Other accommodations such as campgrounds, outfitters, cottages and bed and breakfasts also suffered as their operating revenues declined by 5.2%. This can be attributed, in part, to hurricanes in the Atlantic region, summer heat waves in Central Canada as well as forest fires in the North.

Available on CANSIM: table 351-0002.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 2418.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Irene Ross (613-951-6305; irene.pucci@statcan.gc.ca) or Veronica Utovac (613-951-0813; veronica.utovac@statcan.gc.ca), Service Industries Division.