During the second quarter, Canadian residents took 79.2 million trips in Canada and abroad, up 1.2% from the same quarter of 2023 and an increase of 3.0% from the same period in 2019. Most of the trips in the second quarter of 2024 were domestic (88.3%), followed by trips to the United States (8.2%). The remainder were overseas trips (3.5%).
Domestic travel
In the second quarter, Canadian residents took 70.0 million domestic trips, down 0.3% from the second quarter of 2023 but up 4.4% from the same period in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of domestic overnight trips was 25.1 million in the second quarter of 2024, while the number of same-day trips totalled 44.9 million.
Many of the domestic trips taken by Canadian residents in the second quarter were to visit friends or relatives (40.6%), followed by holiday, leisure or recreation (37.8%).
From April to June, Canadian residents spent $17.9 billion on domestic travel, up 1.1% from the second quarter of 2023 and an increase of 30.5% from the same quarter of 2019. In the second quarter of 2024, the average amount spent per domestic trip was $255 ($123 for same-day trips and $493 for overnight trips), with an average trip length of 1.0 night. The top three expenditure categories were accommodations, vehicle operations, and restaurants and bars.
Travel to the United States
Canadian residents took 6.5 million trips to the United States from April to June, an increase of 5.9% from the second quarter of 2023 but down 10.8% from the same quarter of 2019, before the pandemic. The number of overnight trips to the United States was 3.9 million in the second quarter of 2024, while the number of same-day trips totalled 2.6 million.
In the second quarter, the main trip purpose reported by Canadian residents was for holiday, leisure or recreation (50.2%), followed by visiting friends or relatives (16.5%) and to go shopping (14.2%).
Total expenditures by Canadian residents during trips to the United States reached $6.5 billion in the second quarter, down 7.3% from the same quarter of 2023 but up 18.5% from the second quarter of 2019. In the second quarter of 2024, Canadian residents spent an average of $1,001 per trip to the United States ($153 for same-day trips and $1,563 for overnight trips), with an average trip length of 4.2 nights. Accommodations, and restaurants and bars represented the main expenditure categories.
Overseas travel
From April to June, Canadian residents returned from 2.8 million trips overseas. This was an increase of 41.3% from the second quarter of 2023 and an increase of 7.2% from the same quarter of 2019. In the second quarter of 2024, most Canadian residents reported the main purpose of their trip was for holiday, leisure or recreation (71.6%).
In the second quarter, the top three overseas countries visited by Canadian residents were Mexico (385,900 visits), the United Kingdom (298,600) and the Dominican Republic (216,400).
Canadian visitors spent $6.5 billion overseas in the second quarter, up 35.7% from the same quarter of 2023 and up 31.2% from the same quarter of 2019. In the second quarter of 2024, Canadian residents spent an average of $2,353 per trip overseas, with an average trip length of 13.2 nights. They spent the most on accommodations and at restaurants and bars during these trips.
Table 1: Travel by Canadian residents in Canada and abroad by trip purpose, second quarter of 2024
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Note to readers
The National Travel Survey collects information about the domestic and international travel of Canadian residents.
All spending estimates are based on visit expenditures; domestic visit expenditures include commercial air expenditures incurred at the point of origin of the trip. All data in this release are expressed in current dollars unless otherwise noted.
Readers are encouraged to review the concepts, definitions, data sources, methods, limitations, and summary of changes for the National Travel Survey, especially when making historical comparisons and examining specific regions.
Recent data on international travel by Canadian residents are available from the monthly "Travel between Canada and other countries." To explore current and historical data on arrivals in Canada in an interactive format, please visit the Frontier Counts: Interactive Dashboard.
Canada Post service disruptions
As of November 28, 2024, the National Travel Survey collection for the fourth quarter of 2024 is largely unaffected by the ongoing Canada Post service disruptions, as the October invitation letters were mailed prior to the service disruptions. Statistics Canada continues to monitor the impacts of the Canada Post service disruptions.
Products
Data from the second quarter of 2024 from the National Travel Survey are now available.
The Variable of Interest Tables have been created to provide data on travel and demographic characteristics from the National Travel Survey. They present statistics on the number of visits, expenditures, and the number of nights. They are annual tables (2018 to 2023) available at the provincial, tourism region and census metropolitan area and census agglomeration levels.
These tables, including statistical profiles of Canadian travellers, are available upon request.
Reference
Contact information
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