Travel between Canada and other countries, February 2024

Released: 2024-04-23

Highlights

In February, the number of non-resident visitors to Canada accounted for 91.5% of the number observed in February 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic, with US residents taking 1.1 million trips to Canada in February 2024 and residents of overseas countries embarking on 332,100 trips.

During the same period, the number of returning Canadian residents reached 91.0% of the level recorded in February 2020, as Canadian residents returned from 3.9 million trips abroad in February 2024.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, compared with January 2024, the number of non-resident arrivals in Canada in February increased 10.3%, and the number of returning Canadian-resident arrivals increased by 2.8%.

To further explore current and historical data in an interactive format, please visit the Frontier Counts: Interactive Dashboard.

Trips to Canada by US residents

In February, US residents took 1.1 million trips to Canada, up 19.3% from the 945,100 trips taken during the same month in 2023 and reaching 88.0% of the pre-pandemic level observed in February 2020 (1.3 million).

Almost three-quarters (73.8%) of US residents visiting Canada arrived by automobile (832,000 arrivals) in February 2024, and over half (54.1%) of those were same-day trips. Arrivals by automobile were up 19.8% year over year and represented 89.2% of such trips recorded in February 2020. US residents also took trips crossing over Canadian land borders in February 2024 by other modes of transportation, such as by bus (23,000) or by train (4,200), or as pedestrians (3,200).

Air arrivals (256,900) constituted 22.8% of all trips to Canada made by US residents in February 2024. Those arrivals were 16.7% higher than the same month in 2023 and reached 87.2% of such trips taken in February 2020.

In February 2024, the points of entry most frequented by US residents entering Canada by automobile were near Vancouver (including Douglas and Pacific Highway in Surrey), near Niagara (including Niagara Falls and Fort Erie), and in Southwestern Ontario (including Windsor and Sarnia), together representing points of entry for 67.4% of all such trips. The busiest points of entry by air were in Toronto (including Toronto Pearson International Airport and Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport), Vancouver, Montréal, and Calgary. Combined, they represented points of entry for 92.6% of all US-resident arrivals by air in Canada in February.

Trips to Canada by overseas residents

In February, 332,100 overseas residents arrived in Canada, an increase of 29.8% from the 255,900 overseas arrivals observed in February 2023, and exceeding such arrivals recorded in February 2020 (314,400) by 5.6%. Most (88.7%) of the overseas residents arriving in February 2024 flew into Canada (294,600 arrivals).

In February, residents of the top three countries of overseas travellers to Canada—Mexico (44,400), France (39,900) and the United Kingdom (33,800)—combined represented over one-third (35.6%) of all overseas arrivals in Canada during the month. Mexico ranked first with the most visitors arriving in Canada for the fourth consecutive month.

In February, overseas residents arrived most frequently in Canada at airports located in Toronto, Vancouver, Montréal, and Calgary. Combined, these airports welcomed 96.5% of all overseas arrivals by air during the month.

Trips abroad by Canadian residents

Canadian residents returned from 3.9 million trips abroad in February 2024, increasing 19.0% from February 2023 (3.3 million) and reaching 91.0% of such trips taken during the same month in 2020 (4.3 million).

In February 2024, Canadian residents returned by air from 2.1 million trips abroad, which represented more than half (53.9%) of the total trips by air taken by Canadian residents. These air arrivals were 17.0% higher in February compared with the same month a year ago and reached 98.1% of such arrivals recorded in February 2020.

Trips to the United States by automobile (1.8 million) in February 2024 represented nearly half (45.0%) of the total trips taken by Canadian residents that month, and nearly three-quarters (71.1%) of those were same-day trips. Canadian residents returning by automobile from a visit to the United States increased by 21.1% year over year and represented 84.4% of such trips taken in February 2020.

In February 2024, the busiest airports for Canadian residents returning home were in Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, and Calgary, which, combined, represented 87.6% of all air arrivals from the United States, and 83.9% of all air arrivals from overseas. The busiest points of entry for Canadian residents returning from the United States by automobile were near Vancouver, in Southwestern Ontario, and near Niagara, which represented a combined 65.0% of such trips.

Seasonally adjusted arrivals

Tourism is influenced by seasonal effects (e.g., actual seasons, and holidays such as Canada Day and Thanksgiving) and by calendar effects (e.g., number of weekends in a month). All statistics in this section are based on seasonally adjusted data (for more information, please see Note to readers).

In February 2024, the number of arrivals in Canada by US residents increased by 9.6% compared with the previous month. Month over month, US-resident arrivals by air increased by 3.9% and arrivals by automobile rose by 9.4%, attributable to more same-day automobile trips from the United States (+12.9%).

The number of overseas-resident arrivals in Canada increased by 12.8% in February compared with January, reflecting the return to seasonal travel trends by overseas visitors arriving in Canada. Arrivals from Europe, the largest overseas market with 41.0% of the total overseas arrivals, increased by 9.2%, bolstered by increasing arrivals from many European countries, mainly Germany (+14.2%), France (+7.3%), and the United Kingdom (+6.6%).

Complementing the increase in visits from European residents to Canada was the number of arrivals by residents of Asia, the second-largest overseas market, increasing 16.3% in February 2024 from January, coinciding with the start of the Year of the Dragon. In February, as the Lunar New Year began February 10 this year, visitors from China increased 15.8% from January, which aligned with overall increases in Asian visitors coming to Canada during the month. At the country level, the top four increases in the number of visitors were from Viet Nam (+98.0%), Iran (+34.8%), Malaysia (+25.6%), and Japan (+22.4%).

Canadian residents returning from a trip abroad in February 2024 increased 2.8% from January, marking the eighth consecutive monthly increase of such trips, and can be attributed to the increase in the number of same-day automobile trips to the United States (+7.5%). Canadian residents taking trips to the United States and back by automobile increased 4.2% from January 2024, while trips to the United States by air decreased 0.2%.

Chart 1 
Non-resident visitors entering Canada, February 2018 to February 2024

Chart 2 
Canadian residents returning to Canada from abroad, February 2018 to February 2024

Products

The product "Frontier Counts: Interactive Dashboard," part of the Data Visualization Products series (Catalogue number71-607-X), is available.

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; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).