Record-breaking number of international tourists visited Canada in 2019

A record-breaking 22.1 million international tourists from abroad visited Canada in 2019, surpassing the previous year’s record of 21.1 million.

According to Statistics Canada, it is the sixth consecutive year the country has seen an increase, with growth in tourists from both the United States and overseas.

The number of people who made overnight trips in Canada from overseas countries rose by 454,000 to 7.1 million, while the number of U.S. tourists increased by 554,000 to 15 million.

It was the highest number of tourists from the United States since 2004 but remained below the peak of 16.2 million in 2002.

The report found air arrivals from the United Kingdom were down for the third year in a row.

Tourists from France were up slightly last year, with more than three-quarters of air arrivals from France landing in Quebec.

For the first time since 2003, there was a decline of 9.6 per cent of tourists from China.

Statistics Canada says while tourists from the United States account for over two-thirds of all international tourists, the number of overseas tourists has grown at a faster pace.

The report also looked at the number of trips Canadians made overseas in 2019. Residents made 12.3 million trips, surpassing the previous record of 12.2 million set in 2017.

For a look at the full detailed report, click here.