By David Opinko

Tourism spending down 48% in Canada last year

Mar 31, 2021 | 2:18 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – It should come as a shock to absolutely nobody at this point, but 2020 was not the best year for the tourism sector.

Between travel restrictions and many businesses either being shut down or limited due to the pandemic, most in the industry saw a drastic decline in sales.

A new report from Stats Canada confirms that people spent around half of what they did in 2019 on tourism-related activities.

Not only that, but GDP for the industry fell by approximately the same amount.

This was felt by all related sectors including transportation, accommodation, food and beverage, and others.

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In the fourth quarter of 2020, there was just over $11 billion in total tourism expenditures in Canada. During the same period in the year prior, that figure was $24.2 billion.

Tourism demand hit its lowest point in the second quarter of last year with just $7.1 billion thanks to the first wave of restrictions being announced in mid-March.

From the third to fourth quarters, airlines saw a 23.6 per cent rebound in ridership. For the year as a whole, however, 72.4 per cent fewer people rode on airplanes.

With international travel restricted almost entirely to essential travel, tourism businesses that remained open relied more heavily on locals. Domestic recreators made up 92.7 per cent of all tourism dollars last year, up from 78.4 per cent in 2019.

READ MORE: 2020 sees record campsite usage at provincial parks

Trends in tourism spending in Canada. (Stats Canada)

GDP and jobs attributable to tourism in Canada. (Stats Canada)

Tourism spending by international visitors in Canada. (Stats Canada)