The COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions implemented to stop its spread had a severe impact on tourism. During the second quarter of 2020, tourism-related spending by non-residents visiting Canada reached its lowest level, at 3.0% of the amount spent in the same quarter of 2018.
In the second quarter of 2023, the tourism sector showed signs of improvement. Spending by non-residents reached 119.9% of the 2018 level, prior to the pandemic, and spending by US residents outpaced spending by overseas residents across various spending categories.
These findings come from a new study released today, entitled "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on inbound visitors to Canada." This study presents a comparative analysis of tourism-related spending behaviours in Canada by inbound visitors from the United States and overseas countries from the first quarter of 2018 to the second quarter of 2023.
The study also provides detailed breakdowns of expenditures by spending category and by five selected tourism regions across Canada.
Products
The study "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on inbound visitors to Canada," part of the Analysis in Brief analytical catalogue (11-621-M), is now available.
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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).