National tourism indicators, fourth quarter 2023
Released: 2024-03-27
$23.3 billion
Fourth quarter 2023
2.3% 
(quarterly change)
$17.7 billion
Fourth quarter 2023
2.0%
(quarterly change)
$5.6 billion
Fourth quarter 2023
3.3%
(quarterly change)
1.58%
Fourth quarter 2023
682,500
Fourth quarter 2023
0.7%
(quarterly change)
Tourism spending in Canada grew 2.3% in the fourth quarter of 2023, following a 0.1% decline in the third quarter. Annually, tourism spending rose 13.5% in 2023 after increasing 50.4% in 2022. Tourism gross domestic product (GDP) rose 2.5% in the fourth quarter of 2023 and was up 9.5% annually.
Passenger air transport (+3.8%) and accommodation services (+3.9%) were the main contributors to growth in tourism spending in the fourth quarter. Annually, passenger air transport spending (+34.0%) contributed the most to overall growth in 2023. Pre-trip expenses (-9.0%), such as recreational vehicles, pleasure crafts and camping equipment, was the only product category to decrease in 2023.
Chart 1
Tourism spending increases
Tourism GDP rose 2.5% in the fourth quarter, following a 0.6% decrease in the third quarter. Accommodation services (+4.1%) and transportation (+4.0%) were the main contributors to overall growth. Economy-wide GDP edged up 0.2% in the fourth quarter, and tourism's share of GDP was unchanged at 1.58% on a nominal basis.
Chart 2
Tourism and major industrial sectors, gross domestic product, fourth quarter of 2023
Tourism jobs increased 0.7% in the fourth quarter, following a 0.2% gain in the third quarter. Food and beverage services (+0.7%), non-tourism industries (+1.3%) and air transportation (+2.2%) were the largest contributors to job growth in the fourth quarter. Tourism's share of jobs increased to 3.34%, while the total number of jobs in Canada declined 0.2% in the fourth quarter.
Annually, tourism GDP rose 9.5% in 2023 with positive growth in all categories. Transportation (+25.5%) accounted for nearly half of the yearly gains. There were also positive gains across all tourism job categories in 2023, as total tourism jobs increased 9.1%.
Chart 3
Tourism gross domestic product and jobs attributable to tourism increase
Tourism spending by international visitors increases
Tourism spending by international visitors in Canada was up 3.3% in the fourth quarter, following a 1.4% increase in the third quarter. Spending on accommodation (+4.3%) and food and beverage (+4.8%) services were the main contributors to the quarter's increase.
Chart 4
Share of tourism spending in Canada by international visitors increases
Tourism spending in Canada by Canadians increases
Tourism spending in Canada by Canadians increased 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Domestic tourism spending on passenger air transport (+4.2%) was the main contributor to the rise. Many product categories such as recreation (-1.6%) and travel services (-5.2%) had declines in the fourth quarter which limited growth. Annually, domestic tourism spending increased 7.7% in 2023, as outlays on passenger air transport rose 34.1%.
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Sustainable development goals
On January 1, 2016, the world officially began implementing 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
With the fourth quarter 2023 release of the national tourism indicators, all data from the first quarter of 2020 have been revised. In addition, all volume and price estimates for tourism supply, demand and gross domestic product (GDP) have been updated to the 2017 (2017=100) reference year.
Growth rates for tourism spending and GDP are expressed in real terms (that is, adjusted for price changes), using reference year 2017, as well as adjusted for seasonal variations, unless otherwise indicated.
Tourism jobs data are also seasonally adjusted.
Tourism's share of economy-wide GDP is calculated from seasonally adjusted nominal values.
Tourism's share of economy-wide jobs is calculated using seasonally adjusted values.
Economy-wide GDP is obtained from Table 36-10-0449-01. Economy-wide total number of jobs is obtained from Table 36-10-0207-01.
For information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.
Associated percentage changes are presented at quarterly rates unless otherwise noted.
Non-tourism industries, also referred to as other industries, are industries that would continue to exist in the absence of tourism. For example, retail trade industries, which benefit from tourism activity, would not cease to exist in the absence of tourism. Tourism GDP takes into account the production of these products purchased by tourists.
Non tourism products, also referred to as other products, are products for which a significant part of its total demand in Canada does not come from visitors, such as groceries, clothing and alcohol bought in stores.
The national tourism indicators are funded by Destination Canada.
Next release
Data on the national tourism indicators for the first quarter of 2024 will be released on June 26, 2024.
Products
The Economic accounts statistics portal, accessible from the Subjects module of the Statistics Canada website, features an up-to-date portrait of national and provincial economies and their structure.
The Latest Developments in the Canadian Economic Accounts (13-605-X) is available.
The User Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (13-606-G) is available.
The Methodological Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (13-607-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).
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