Highlights
In December, the preliminary number of international arrivals to Canada by air and automobile reached 5.3 million, up 5.5% from December 2023.
By air, the number of non-resident arrivals in Canada totalled 761,300 in December 2024, up 4.0% year over year. Meanwhile, the number of Canadian-resident return trips from abroad by air reached 1.6 million, a 3.3% increase from December 2023.
By automobile, US residents took 1.1 million trips to Canada in December 2024, up 8.1% from the same month in 2023. The number of Canadian-resident return trips from the United States by automobile also rose, up 6.6% year over year to reach 1.8 million trips in December 2024.
All statistics in this release are based on the primary data sources for air and automobile arrivals (see Note to readers). To further explore current and historical data in an interactive format, please visit the Frontier Counts: Interactive Dashboard.
Non-resident trips to Canada by air
In December, non-resident arrivals in Canada by air totalled 761,300, up 4.0% year over year. These include arrivals by US residents (378,500) and residents of countries other than the United States (382,800). The highest number of non-resident arrivals per day (45,100) was observed on the Saturday before Christmas, December 21, surpassing the daily average for the remaining three Saturdays of the month by 93.9%.
Chart 1: Trips to Canada by commercial aircraft, by country of residence, December 2024
Description - Chart 1
The title of the chart is "Trips to Canada by commercial aircraft, by country of residence, December 2024"
This is a line chart.
The vertical axis shows the number of trips, from 0 to 80,000, by increments of 10,000.
The horizontal axis shows the days from December 1 to 31, by increments of one day.
There are three series in this chart.
The first series is United States residents. The lowest point on this line is 6,960 on December 31, and the highest point on this line is 20,529 on December 21.
The second series is overseas residents. The lowest point on this line is 5,365 on December 31, and the highest point on this line is 24,607 on December 21.
The third series is Canadian residents. The lowest point on this line is 33,672 on December 25, and the highest point on this line is 73,312 on December 29.
Source: Table 24-10-0056-01.
When data from Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal 1 are excluded from the total arrivals (see Note to readers), non-resident arrivals in December were 2.8% higher than the volume in December 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic (Chart 2).
Chart 2: Non-resident trips to Canada by commercial aircraft, December, 2019 to 2024
Description - Chart 2
Data table: Non-resident trips to Canada by commercial aircraft, December, 2019 to 2024
Source: Table 24-10-0056-01.
Canadian-resident return trips by air
In December 2024, Canadian-resident return trips by air stood at 1.6 million, up 3.3% from the same month one year earlier. The highest number of arrivals per day (73,300) was observed during the holiday season on Sunday, December 29, surpassing the average for the remaining four Sundays of the month by 21.2%.
When arrivals at Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal 1 are excluded from the total arrivals (see Note to readers), the number of return trips in December was 8.1% higher than the number of trips recorded in December 2019, before the pandemic (Chart 3).
Chart 3: Canadian-resident return trips from abroad by commercial aircraft, December, 2019 to 2024
Description - Chart 3
Data table: Canadian-resident return trips from abroad by commercial aircraft, December, 2019 to 2024
Source: Table 24-10-0056-01.
US-resident trips to Canada by automobile
In December 2024, the number of US-resident trips to Canada by automobile was 1.1 million, up 8.1% from the same month in 2023. During the holiday season, from Wednesday, December 25, to Friday, December 27, 2024, an average of 59,800 US-resident arrivals per day was observed. This average was 118.7% higher than the average for the remaining Wednesday-to-Friday periods in December.
Chart 4: Trips to Canada by automobile, by country of residence, December 2024
Description - Chart 4
The title of the chart is "Trips to Canada by automobile, by country of residence, December 2024"
This is a line chart.
The vertical axis shows the number of trips, from 0 to 180,000 by increments of 20,000.
The horizontal axis shows the days from December 1 to 31, by increments of one day.
There are two series in this chart.
The first series is United States residents. The lowest point in this line is 13,262 on December 3, and the highest point in this line is 73,618 on December 27.
The second series is Canadian residents. The lowest point in this line is 27,656 on December 25, and the highest point in this line is 114,832 on December 1.
Source: Table 24-10-0057-01.
The total number of US-resident arrivals in Canada by automobile in December was 2.5% higher than the number of trips observed in December 2019 (Chart 5).
Chart 5: United States-resident trips to Canada by automobile, December, 2019 to 2024
Description - Chart 5
Data table: United States-resident trips to Canada by automobile, December, 2019 to 2024
Source: Table 24-10-0057-01.
Canadian-resident return trips by automobile
In December 2024, the number of Canadian-resident return trips from visits to the United States by automobile totalled 1.8 million, an increase of 6.6% compared with the same month one year earlier. The number of trips on Sunday, December 1 (114,800), following US Thanksgiving and Black Friday, surpassed the average of the remaining four Sundays by 39.5%.
In December, the number of Canadian-resident return trips by automobile reached 91.7% of the number of trips observed in the same month in 2019 (Chart 6).
Chart 6: Canadian-resident return trips from the United States by automobile, December, 2019 to 2024
Description - Chart 6
Data table: Canadian-resident return trips from the United States by automobile, December, 2019 to 2024
Source: Table 24-10-0057-01.
Note to readers
This release provides an early indicator of travel based on preliminary data on international arrivals to Canada in December 2024. Complete counts for the December reference month will be available with the release of "Travel between Canada and other countries" on February 21, 2025.
All counts of arrivals by air are from commercial aircraft and are produced exclusively using primary inspection kiosk (PIK) data received from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). PIKs were deployed at Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal 1 on June 22, 2021, and, as of July 2021, these arrivals are included in the total counts, which has consequently improved coverage. In 2023, PIKs captured 91.2% of all commercial air arrivals.
Counts of arrivals to the country by automobile through land ports equipped with the CBSA's automated Integrated Primary Inspection Line (IPIL) system represent a subset of US-resident trips and Canadian-resident return trips by automobile. In 2023, IPIL land ports captured 89.1% of all automobile entries.
Readers are encouraged to review the concepts, definitions, data sources and methods for Frontier Counts, especially when making historical comparisons and examining specific regions.
Selected estimates from the Canadian Tourism Activity Tracker for October 2024 are available upon request. Please note that these data will no longer be produced after the December 2024 reference period. The data visualization tool, "Canadian Tourism Activity Tracker," and Table 24-10-0049-01, "Canadian Tourism Activity Tracker and Grouped Data Sources," will be archived. For additional information or to provide comments on the proposed change, users may contact tourism@statcan.gc.ca.
Reference
Data tables: Access the latest tables.
- Note: some data tables may best be viewed on desktop.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 5005.
Previous release: Leading indicator of international arrivals to Canada, November 2024
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).