Most of the $5.5 billion spent by international tourists was on non-tourism-related products in Canada

In the third quarter of 2023, Canadian tourism spending saw an increase driven by international demand, while domestic tourism experienced a slight dip.

The latest report from Statistics Canada notes that Canadian tourism spending rose by 0.5% in the third quarter, (following a 1.1% growth in the second quarter), while domestic tourism decreased by 0.2%.

Of the $21.1 billion spent in the third quarter, $15.6 billion was from domestic purchases and $5.5 billion was from international tourists.

Fueling this growth was a notable 0.8% rise in air travel and increased spending on everyday items like groceries and clothing.

Pre-trip expenses covering recreational vehicles and camping gear also saw a substantial boost of 2.1%.

Yet, not every sector rode the wave of positivity.

Statistics Canada highlights challenges in food and beverage services, which went down by 0.6%.

Recreation and entertainment saw a decline of 0.4%, while vehicle fuel purchases fell by 0.3%.

Passenger rail transport witnessed the biggest decline, plummeting by 3.7%.

Despite the overall spending uptick, tourism gross domestic product (GDP) saw a slight 0.1% dip, mainly due to a 1.0% reduction in accommodation services. However, this was partly offset by gains in non-tourism sectors like retail trade (0.7%) and transportation (0.3%).

Additionally, tourism contributed to employment with a total of 682,200 jobs, showing a 0.1% increase.

Statistic Canada notes, data on the national tourism indicators for the fourth quarter of 2023 will be released on March 27, 2024.