International travel account

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Canada's international travel deficit was $3.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008, down $76 million from the previous quarter.

Chart 1

Foreign travellers spent $4.1 billion in Canada in the fourth quarter, up 1.3% from the third quarter and the highest quarterly level of 2008.

Canadians travelling outside the country spent $7.2 billion, down 0.3% from the previous quarter.

On an annual basis, Canada's international travel deficit climbed $2.6 billion to $12.6 billion in 2008, the highest level ever.

While inbound travel spending has remained fairly stable over the last five years, hovering around $17 billion annually, outbound spending has increased significantly. In 2004, Canadian travellers spent $20.2 billion outside the country, compared with $28.9 billion in 2008. As a result, the deficit has more than tripled during that span.

Drop in spending by Canadians in the United States pushes travel deficit downward

Canada's travel deficit with the United States fell to $2.0 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008, down $315 million from the previous quarter.

The drop in the deficit was mainly a result of a 7.1% decline in travel spending by Canadians in the United States. Canadians spent $3.9 billion in the United States in the fourth quarter, the lowest level in a year and a half.

A decline in travel contributed to the lower spending, as Canadians made 4.5 million overnight trips to the United States in the fourth quarter, down 4.8% from the third quarter.

Meanwhile, spending by US residents in Canada increased 0.8% to $2.0 billion, the highest quarterly level of 2008. Travellers from the United States made 3.2 million overnight trips to Canada in the fourth quarter, up 5.9% from the previous quarter.

Annually, the travel deficit with the United States climbed to $8.9 billion in 2008, up $1.9 billion from 2007. The deficit has been on an upward trend since falling to $1.2 billion in 2004.

Travel deficit with overseas countries surpasses the $1-billion mark for the first time

Canada's travel deficit with overseas countries increased $239 million to $1.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008. This was the first time that the quarterly deficit with overseas countries surpassed the $1-billion mark.

The rise in the deficit was the result of a 9.2% increase in spending by Canadians travelling to overseas countries. They spent a record $3.3 billion in the fourth quarter.

Increased travel overseas contributed to the higher spending, as Canadians made 2.1 million overnight trips to countries other than the United States in the fourth quarter, 5.4% more than the previous quarter.

Inbound, travel spending from overseas countries increased 1.7% to $2.1 billion. The increase occurred despite a 4.4% drop in overnight travel from overseas countries to Canada in the fourth quarter, which reached 1.1 million trips.

In 2008, the travel deficit with overseas countries hit a high of $3.8 billion, up $703 million from 2007. The deficit has increased every year since 2004.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey numbers, including related surveys, 3152 and 5005.

The international travel account for the first quarter of 2009 will be released on May 28.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Eric Desjardins (613-951-1781; eric.desjardins@statcan.gc.ca) or Client Services (toll-free 1-800-307-3382; 613-951-9169; fax: 613-951-2909; tourism@statcan.gc.ca), Culture, Tourism and the Centre for Education Statistics.