U.S. Tourism to Canada to Rise 3.4 Percent This Year
by Richard D’Ambrosio /
Though higher gas prices will impact the U.S. drive market to Canada this year, overnight visits by Americans are forecasted to rise 3.4 percent this year.
International visits from other markets will rise faster though (6.7 percent), with the highest growth coming from Mexico and China, according to The Conference Board of Canada’s latest Travel Markets Outlook report.
Vancouver is expected to have the strongest growth in overnight visits this year at 4.3 percent, to 8 million tourists. Toronto should experience a 3.5 percent increase, to an estimated 14.8 million tourists in 2018, while Montreal should see, the Conference Board said.
Other cities experiencing strong growth are Winnipeg (3 percent), Edmonton (2.9 percent) and Québec City and the St. Catharines-Niagara region (2.8 percent).
Overnight visits to Montréal are expected to grow at a more modest pace of 2.3 percent in 2018, following on a strong 2017 when the city celebrated its 375th anniversary.