The international arrival numbers for October were released by Statistics Canada in late December. Based on this information, TIAC is confident that we are on track for another record year for arrivals.

Overall, inbound visits are up 5% over last year, with the most growth coming from overseas residents. Europe, India (+17.6%) and Mexico (+27.8%) continue to have the best overall growth. Growth from China is fairly stagnant (+0.5%), which TIAC will continue to monitor.

International visitation is key to industry growth. Visitors from overseas stay longer, and spend more on their trips than domestic visitors. This also leads to better tourism jobs and contributes to tourism as Canada’s largest service export.