Domestic travel

Travel in Canada by Canadian residents increased 1.6% to 175.1 million trips in 2004 compared to 2003. However, the number of domestic trips taken in 2004 was 6.8% less than the highest annual level recorded in seven years (187.9 million trips in 2002).

During the same period, Canadians took 41.8 million trips to foreign countries, a 6.5% gain over 2003. Over 36 million of these trips were to the United States as many Canadians took advantage of a more favourable exchange rate with the American dollar.

Canadians made 2.5% more domestic trips for business or to attend a convention in 2004, taking 20.1 million trips compared to 19.6 million in 2003, which was the lowest level in seven years.

Pleasure trips (67.6 million), which represented 39% of all domestic trips made in 2004, edged up 0.2% compared to 2003. Meanwhile, trips for visiting friends or relatives increased 2.3% to 62.8 million. Together, these two types of trips represented three-quarters of all domestic trips made in 2004.

In 2004, 88.7 million or 50.7% of all trips made in Canada by Canadians included nights away from home. For each overnight trip taken, Canadians stayed on average three nights away from home and spent $265 per person. The average trip distance was 421 km (one way) and the average party size included two travellers.

The number of overnight stays increased 2.0% to 284.1 million nights in 2004 compared to a year earlier. The number of nights spent in non-commercial accommodation (175.0 million) was up 2.9% while the number of nights spent in commercial accommodation (109.1 million) increased more moderately at 0.7%.

Of the 109.1 million nights spent in commercial establishments, more than half were in hotels/motels. Hunting and fishing lodges recorded the largest increase (+34.9%) in overnight stays, as Canadian spent 1.4 million nights in these establishments while travelling in Canada in 2004.

On the non-commercial side, overnight stays in private cottages or vacation homes increased the most (+5.3%) as Canadians spent 37.0 million nights in this type of accommodation in 2004.

Total spending on domestic travel reached $29.7 billion in 2004, up 4.4% compared to 2003. All categories of expenditures were up, with increases ranging between 3.7% (clothing and other purchases) and 7.3% (recreation and entertainment).

This gain in travel expenditures was sustained by both an increase in the volume of domestic travel and a rise in the prices of goods and services purchased by travellers (+2.0%).

When taking inflation into account, spending on domestic travel expenditures increased by 2.4% to $26.2 billion (in 1997 dollars) in 2004.

The fourth quarter had a relatively small impact on the annual domestic travel results, accounting for 23% of all trips taken during 2004.

Spending on domestic travel reached $7.1 billion in the fourth quarter, while the total number of overnight stays in all types of accommodation was 59.5 million nights.

Note: Domestic travel is defined as any trip of 80 kilometres or more one way, taken by a Canadian resident to a Canadian destination. Data for trips by Canadian residents abroad and by foreigners to Canada come from the International Travel Survey.

This constitutes the last release of domestic travel estimates based on the Canadian Travel Survey.

Since the beginning of 2005, the new Travel Survey of Residents of Canada (TSRC) has been conducted to measure domestic travel in Canada. Featuring several definitional changes and a new questionnaire, this new survey will provide estimates of domestic travel that are more in line with the international guidelines recommended by the United Nations.

It is expected that the first quarter 2005 results from TSRC will be released at the end of 2005.

Available on CANSIM: tables 426-0001 to 426-0006.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 3810.

For general information or to order data, contact Client Services (1-800-307-3382; 613-951-7608; fax: 613-951-2909; cult.tourstats@statcan.gc.ca). To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Lizette Gervais-Simard (613-951-1672; fax: 613-951-2909; gervliz@statcan.gc.ca), Culture Tourism, and the Centre for Education Statistics.

For additional context and perspective on the tourism industry, contact Scott Meis (613-954-3909; fax: 613-954-3826; meis.scott@ctc-cct.ca), Canadian Tourism Commission.