The Canada Tourism Commission regularly publishes monthly reports on foreign tourist arrivals. The latest report published on the agency's official website indicates that in January of this year, the total number of international tourists visiting Canada was 706,036, an increase of 3.1% compared to the same period last year.
The statistics released in the report show that in January, there were 26,762 tourists from China, an increase of 63.7% compared to the same period last year. Although the United States remains the country with the highest number of inbound tourists to Canada, with 476,284 visitors, China ranks second, followed by the United Kingdom with 26,344 visitors.
The report also reviews the overall situation of Chinese tourists visiting Canada over the past few years. Since 2007, the number of overnight visitors from China has steadily increased from 150,800 to 273,300 in 2012. In 2013, the total number of Chinese tourists visiting Canada reached 352,597, an increase of 22.3%.
In terms of spending, the report indicates that compared to 2011, Chinese tourists spent a total of 486 million Canadian dollars in Canada in 2012, an increase of 19.2%, with an average expenditure of 1,777 Canadian dollars per trip and a stay of 29.8 days. All these figures show an upward trend compared to the same period last year. The report concludes that China has become Canada's fourth-largest tourism market.
The report notes that since June 2010, when China designated Canada as a travel destination, the number of tourists from China has continued to surge. The end of January this year coincides with the Chinese New Year, which has led to an unprecedented increase of nearly 64% in Chinese visitors to Canada. The report also highlights that the rapid growth of the Chinese economy has not affected the outbound tourism of Chinese tourists, who continue to travel enthusiastically despite the slowdown in domestic economic growth.
