The Global Recession & Tourism

Tourism industries around the world were affected by the global recession, and Canada was no exception.  According to the UN World Tourism Organization, the global number of international tourists dropped from 920 million to 880 million between 2008 and 2009. That means that 40 million fewer people travelled outside their home countries in 2009.

Some facts & figures about Canada:

•    Canada’s tourism industry represents about 2% of overall GDP – equivalent to the combined income of agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting.
•    Total tourism revenue in Canada dropped by 4.5% between 2008 and 2009 -  from $72.8 billion to $69.5 billion.
•    Revenue generated by international tourists to Canada dropped by about 13%  between 2008 and 2009, from $16.2 billion to $14.1 billion.
•    International visitors made 15.6 million trips to Canada in 2009, down 22% compared with the peak number of international arrivals in 2002.
•    The money Canadians spent on domestic tourism also dropped between 2008 and 2009, but less dramatically, decreasing by only 2.1% - according to Statistics Canada.  However, although they spent  less on domestic travel, Canadians  actually increased the number of their domestic trips in 2009 by 5.7 %
•    Among international visitors to Canada, Americans are by far the biggest group. In 2009 Americans made about 11,666,000 overnight trips here – down 6.7% from 2008.
•    The other top international markets for our tourism industry are, in order of importance;   the UK, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, China, Mexico, and South Korea. (2009)
•    There were 3,100 fewer Canadians employed in the tourist industry in 2009 than in 2008, representing a decline of 0.5 %.
•    Total tourism spending in Canada increased by 4.0% during the first 3 months of 2010 – an increase attributed mainly to greater numbers of domestic tourists.

Sources:
Canadian Tourism Commission,
UN World Tourism Organization
National Tourism Indicators (NTI)