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National tourism indicators, second quarter 2017

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Released: 2017-09-28

Tourism spending in Canada

$21.6 billion

Second quarter 2017

1.7% increase

(quarterly change)

Tourism spending in Canada rose 1.7% in the second quarter, following a 1.1% gain in the first quarter. Increased tourism spending by Canadians at home and by international visitors in Canada contributed to the second quarter increase.

Chart 1  Chart 1: Tourism spending in Canada increases
Tourism spending in Canada increases

Tourism spending by Canadians increases

Tourism spending by Canadians in Canada grew 2.1% in the second quarter, compared with a 0.8% increase in the previous quarter.

Growth was driven by increased expenditures on passenger air transport (+3.1%). Non-tourism goods and services (+2.4%) (such as groceries and clothing), pre-trip expenditures (+5.1%) (such as luggage and camping equipment), and spending on vehicle fuel (+1.8%) also increased.

Spending on interurban bus transport (-3.1%) and recreation and entertainment (-1.4%) both fell in the second quarter.

Chart 2  Chart 2: Tourism spending by Canadians at home increases
Tourism spending by Canadians at home increases

Tourism spending by international visitors edges up

Spending by international visitors in Canada edged up 0.2% in the second quarter, compared with a 2.1% gain in the first quarter.

Higher outlays on passenger air transport (+0.6%) accounted for most of the growth. Spending on non-tourism products (+0.4%) and food and beverage services (+0.3%) also increased.

Visitors spent less on interurban bus transport (-2.0%) and recreation and entertainment (-0.2%).

Chart 3  Chart 3: Increase in tourism spending by international visitors
Increase in tourism spending by international visitors

Tourism gross domestic product outpaces total economy

Tourism gross domestic product (GDP) grew 1.6% in the second quarter, a faster rate than that of economy-wide GDP (+1.2%). Tourism GDP has outpaced national GDP in 12 of the last 15 quarters.

The growth in tourism GDP was driven mainly by gains in transportation (+2.8%) and in non-tourism industries (+1.7%). The GDP of other tourism industries edged down 0.1%.

Tourism employment rose 1.2% in the second quarter, following growth of 0.2% in the previous quarter. Food and beverage services (+0.9%), air transportation (+3.6%) and accommodation services (+0.6%) all contributed to growth. Tourism jobs in non-tourism industries (+1.8%) also contributed to the increase, while employment in recreation and entertainment fell 0.4%.


Sustainable development goals

On January 1, 2016, the world officially began implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development—the United Nations' transformative plan of action that addresses urgent global challenges over the next 15 years. The plan is based on 17 specific sustainable development goals.

The national tourism indicators are an example of how Statistics Canada supports the reporting on the Global Goals for Sustainable Development. This release will be used in helping to measure the following goal:

  Note to readers

Growth rates for tourism spending and gross domestic product are expressed in real terms (that is, adjusted for price changes), at 2007 constant prices, as well as adjusted for seasonal variations, unless otherwise indicated. Employment data are also seasonally adjusted. For information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.

Associated percentage changes are presented at quarterly rates unless otherwise noted.

The national tourism indicators are funded by Destination Canada.

Next release

Data on the national tourism indicators for the third quarter of 2017 will be released on January 10, 2018.

Products

The document "The 1986 to 2016 revisions of the National Tourism Indicators", part of Latest Developments in the Canadian Economic Accounts (Catalogue number13-605-X), is now available.

The System of Macroeconomic Accounts module features an up-to-date portrait of national and provincial economies and their structures.

The Methodological Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (Catalogue number13-607-X) is available.

The User Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (Catalogue number13-606-G) is also available. This publication will be updated to maintain its relevance.

Contact information

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; STATCAN.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.STATCAN@canada.ca).

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