OTTAWA - Despite a small increase in February inbound travel to Canada, levels remained at one of their lowest points since record keeping began in 1972, while Canadian travel abroad remained robust, Statistics Canada reported Monday.
Travel to Canada rose 2.3 per cent from January levels to 2.2 million trips as a result of a boost from U.S. visitors, but it was not enough to push total traffic above historical lows, the federal agency said.
Canadians, however, made four million trips outside the country in February, up 4.1 per cent over the previous month, while recording 702,000 visits to destinations outside of the U.S. - the second highest monthly level, Statistics Canada said.
U.S. residents made one million overnight trips to Canada in February, up 1. 9 per cent over the previous month. Overnight car and plane trips increased three per cent and 1.5 per cent, respectively, and same-day car travel climbed to 754, 000, an increase of 6.5 per cent over the previous month and the highest level since October 2008. Overnight travel by other modes of transportation fell 2.6 per cent, the agency said.
Trips from countries other than the U.S. fell 4.4 per cent to 373,000 in February as most top overseas markets recorded declines in travel to Canada. Visits from the United Kingdom, which is traditionally Canada's most important overseas market, dropped 5.8 per cent, while German visits fell 11.4 per cent.
Canadian residents made 1.5 million overnight trips by to the U.S. in February, up 3.2 per cent over the previous month. Same-day car travel to the U. S. rose by 6 per cent to 1.7 million trips, the first increase of its kind in six months.
Financial Post
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Topic: Foreign travel to Canada remains near historic lows. (Read 2699 times)