But how much does tourism actually contribute to their economy?
What are the most visited cities and national parks in Canada?
Below, we’ve compiled some of the most important and recent statistics about travel and tourism in Canada.
Let’s go!
Sources: You can see the source of each statistics. We’ve also written the full list of articles used in this round-up at the end.
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32 million tourists visited Canada in 2019, placing them 9th in the world.
How big is the travel industry in Canada?
The tourism expenditure in Canada in 2019 amounted to roughly $104.9 billion.
Where does Canada rank in tourism?
In 2019, Canada ranks 9th worldwide in terms of the number of tourist visits.
Canada Travel & Tourism Key Statistics
The total international overnight arrivals alone in 2019 was a record-breaking 22.1 million travellers.
In 2019, 11 million of those arrivals were by air travel.
Overall, 14.99 million of the total international arrivals into Canada was by American travellers.
Canadian millennials take the most trips per year (3.1 trips)
The tourism expenditure in Canada in 2019 amounted to roughly $104.9 billion.
In 2020, the amount that tourism contributed to Canada’s GDP was around Can$ 19.96 billion.
As of Q4 2022, the tourism industry in Canada contributed around 657.4 thousand jobs, a rise from the 565 thousand jobs generated in Q4 2021.
The hotel and motel market in Canada was calculated to reach around $18 billion in 2022, an improvement from the Covid figures in 2020.
In March 2020, international arrivals in Canada dropped by 54.2% from February 2020, the biggest single monthly fall since 1972.
Canada inbound & outbound tourism statistics
How many tourists visit Canada each year?
1. 32 million tourists (both foreign and domestic) visited Canada in 2019, placing them as the 9th most visited country in the world.
[World Data]
2. The total international overnight arrivals alone in 2019 was a record-breaking 22.1 million travellers.
[Destination Canada]
This was the country’s first time breaking the 22 million mark of international arrivals.
3. In 2019, 11 million of those arrivals were by air travel.
[Destination Canada]
4. By comparing the number of tourist with the local population, there are 0.85 tourists per Canadian resident, ranking them 50th worldwide and 1st in North America.
[World Data]
5. In 2019, direct air travel capacity increased by 2%, or 900 thousand more seats on inbound flights to Canada.
[Destination Canada]
6. Canada is the country with the fifth highest number of backpackers in Australia, making up 4.32% of all backpackers there.
[BackpackerJobBoard]
7. Canadians make up 4% of all digital nomads in the world.
9. There were 5.1 million arrivals from the US by air in 2019, compared to 4.6 million in 2018.
[Destination Canada]
10. Meanwhile, land crossings amounted to 8.5 million from the US to Canada, compared to the 2018 figure of 8.2 million.
[Destination Canada]
11. The number of arrivals in Canada by Mexican travellers also increased to over 495 thousand arrivals in 2019, or 12.4% growth in terms of air travel.
[Destination Canada]
12. Meanwhile, India also experienced a 9.7% rise in air arrivals, or 333,111 total arrivals compared to 287,416 in 2018.
[Destination Canada]
13. Meanwhile, France contributed around 668 thousand arrivals in Canada in 2019.
20. The tourism expenditure in Canada in 2019 amounted to roughly $104.9 billion.
[Destination Canada]
This included $104.9 billion of visitor spending in the Ontario area alone. This is because many of the country’s top destinations are found in this province.
21. In 2018, Canada made around $21.98 billion from their tourism sector alone, or 1.1% of its the GDP.
[World Data]
22. This is compared to the $9.18 billion revenue from tourism in Canda in 1995, which means the figure has increased by 139% in 23 years.
[World Data]
23. Canada’s dependence on tourism also decreased slightly over the two decades, from 1.5% of GDP contribution to 1.1%.
[World Data]
24. In 2020, the amount that tourism contributed to Canada’s GDP was around Can$ 19.96 billion.
[Statista]
25. The industry in Canadian travel & tourism with the most significant GDP contribution is accommodation, which brought in Can$ 4.7 billion in 2020 alone.
[Statista]
26. Moreover, Canada contributed 8% of all international tourism receipts in North America.
[World Data]
27. In 2018, the average tourist in Canada spent $703 per year.
[World Data]
28. On the other had, outbound tourists from Canada spent $838 dollars a year on average.
[World Data]
29. In 2019, foreign and local tourists spent a total of Can$ 96.72 billion on tourism commodities.
[Statista]
This includes transportation, accommodation, food and beverage services and others.
30. The number was an increase from the 2018 tourism expenditure of Can$ 95.32 billion.
[Statista]
31. Foreign and domestic tourists spent Can$ 23 billion on passenger air transport in 2019.
[Statista]
32. The business travel market in Canada is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 3.1% between 2020 and 2027.
[ReportLinker]
Business travel is a booming trend, and Canada’s market is expected to grow by 3.1% annually between 2020 and 2027.
Canada travel & tourism employment statistics
How many people does tourism employ in Canada?
33. According to Destination Canada, 1 in 10 jobs in Canada is supported by tourism.
[Destination Canada]
34. As of Q4 2022, the tourism industry in Canada contributed around 657.4 thousand jobs, a rise from the 565 thousand jobs generated in Q4 2021.
[Statistics Canada]
35. F&B services alone accounted for 207.2 thousand jobs in Q4 2022.
[Statistics Canada]
36. The accommodation industry is the second biggest employment contributor within the Canadian tourism sector, with 133 thousand jobs in 2022.
[Statistics Canada]
37. Meanwhile, the transportation industry in Canada employed approximately 79.1 thousand people in 2022.
[Statistics Canada]
38. Travel agencies also contributed to around 31.7 thousand jobs.
[Statistics Canada]
39. While not directly related, the Canadian RV industry provides roughly 67,200 jobs.
[CRVA]
Top travel destinations in Canada
What is the most traveled place in Canada?
40. The most visited city in Canada is Toronto, which welcomed over 4.74 million tourists in 2019 alone, making them the 53rd most visited city worldwide.
41. Vancouver is Canada’s second most visited city, with 3.4 million tourists in 2019.
[World Data]
Thanks to the diversity of activities in Vancouver, it is also the 68th most popular city destination in the world.
42. With 2.24 million annual visitors, Geoguessr names Montreal the third most-visited city in Canada.
[Geoguessr]
Within Canada, Montreal receives the third highest number of visitors, thanks to the many interesting things the city offers.
43. From April 2020 to March 2021, national parks and historic sites in Canada had a total of 17 million visitors, a significant decrease from the 25 million people recorded to visit in 2019/2020.
[Statista]
44. The most visited national park in Canada is Banff National Park in Alberta, with 4 million visitors.
[Statista]
With 4 million annual visitors, Banff National Park is the most popular national park not only in Banff, but in Canada.
49. In August 2020, hotels in Canada had an occupancy rate of 41.7%, a significant increase from the 33.7% of the previous month.
[Statista]
50. As of August 2020, the average daily rate (ADR) of hotels in Canada was $133.49.
[Statista]
ADR is the average room rental price per day. Trends show that ADR in Canadian hotels peak during summer and hit the lowest in the winter months.
51. Hotel rooms in Canada generate a revenue of $55.69 on average per month.
[Statista]
52. A 2022 survey by Statista Consumer Insights revealed that Expedia took the top spot of “Hotel/ private accommodation online bookings by brand" in Canada.
[Statista]
Flipkey came out on the bottom of the ranking.
53. The best-rated hotel in Canada according to readers of Condé Nast Traveler is Oak Bay Beach Hotel in Victoria.
[Statista]
54. It is followed very close behind, differing only by 0.38 point, by Fairmont Waterfront in Vancouver.
[Statista]
55. As of April 2023, there are a total of 13,053 listings on Booking.com in Canada.
[Booking.com]
Booking.com is one of the largest online hotel booking platforms today, and there are currently 13,053 listings in Canada.
56. Between Q3 2021 and Q3 2022, there were 70% more new private rooms listings in Canada’s Airbnb scene.
[Airbnb]
Since the pandemic, more Canadians have considered hosting on Airbnb platform, with 70% more new listings of private rooms in Q3 2022 compared to the previous year.
57. In Summer 2022 alone, the average Airbnb Host in Canada earned over $7,700.
[Airbnb]
58. Airbnb revealed that guests in Canada spend an average of $200 per night on their Airbnb accommodation.
[Airbnb]
Food and drink services in Canada tourism industry
The lowest figure was seen in Q2 2020, when in April sales dropped to
59. The quick service restaurant sector in Canada had a market size of $27.57 billion in 2021 and was expected to reach $29.84 billion in 2022.
[Statista]
60. Meanwhile, full service restaurants in Canada was worth $30.37 billion in 2021.
[Statista]
It was similarly forecast to increase in 2022, at $41.7 billion.
61. In 2019, Can$ 14.63 billion was spent on food and beverage services by foreign and domestic tourists in Canada.
[Statista]
We found Winnipeg to be an especially fantastic city for discovering traditional foods, which is one of the best things to do there.
62. In April 2020, food and drinking services in Canada made a total sales of $2.4 billion, which is only 38% from the $6.22 billion sales in April 2019.
[Statista]
63. However, by July 2021 sales was starting to recover to the pre-pandemic levels, with $6.7 billion.
[Statista]
64. In August 2022, the monthly sales of Canadian food and drinking services hit $7.85 billion.
[Statista]
Canada travel activities statistics
65. In 2019, the RV industry in Canada made $4.8 billion in GDP.
67. RV retailers in Canada also offered over 200 thousand indirect loans, or $8.4 billion, in 2017 to help people purchase RVs.
[CRVA]
68. The average loan amount was $45,000 to buy an RV.
[CRVA]
Covid-19 impact on Canada tourism
How did Covid-19 affect Canada’s tourism industry?
69. In March 2020, international arrivals in Canada dropped by 54.2% from February 2020, the biggest single monthly fall since 1972.
[Statistics Canada]
70. Tourism expenditure in Canada decreased by nearly half (-48.1%) in 2020.
[Statistics Canada]
71. Jobs in Canadian tourism dropped 28.7% annually in 2020.
[Statistics Canada]
72. The occupancy rate of Canadian hotels fell from 76% in June 2019 to 24% in June 2020.
[Statista]
The percentage is roughly three times smaller, showing just how significant the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic was to the tourism industry.
73. ADR also decreased to $138.52 in November 2021, 6.3% lower than the previous year.
[Statista]
74. Despite the challenges caused by the pandemic, many Canadian businesses in the tourism industry are either somewhat (50.3%) or very (15.4%) optimistic about their future.
[Statistics Canada]
75. Still, 18% said that their future outlook wasn’t optimistic, whereas 16.2% were undecided.
[Statistics Canada]
Wrap up
From ice hockey to maple syrup, Canada is a wonderful country with lots of cultural interest.
We hope these statistics can help you understand more about travel and tourism in Canada.
Disclaimer: Fully research your destination prior to travel, or any products prior to purchase. We can accept no responsibility for anything you experience as a result of the information found on this website. Some posts may contain affiliate links, which means we receive a small commission for some purchases, at no additional expense to you. Read more here.
As the type 1 diabetic half of Dream Big, Travel Far, I'm passionate about encouraging fellow type 1's to travel the world and not let their diabetes hold them back. I'm proud to now be a full-time digital nomad. Meaning I live my life working and travelling all over the world and am here to help you achieve your dreams as well in any way I can.
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