U.S. Visitor Spend to Canada Increased 10 Percent This Summer
by Richard D'Ambrosio
American travelers spent about $2.3 billion in Canada this summer, an increase of 10.3% from 2016, according to an analysis of Visa cardholders.
According to the 2017 Summer Travel Snapshot U.S. tourists visiting from California spent the most this summer ($262M), followed by New York ($198M), Washington ($163M), Florida ($115M) and Texas ($103M), with spend from each state increasing this year over last. Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal ranked as the top three cities U.S. travelers visited.
Americans spent $516 million on lodging, $396 million on shopping and $357 million at restaurants. Entertainment spend was $84 million this peak travel season.
While Americans are the largest travel spenders, other destinations are growing their spend faster. According to the report, overall travel spending increased 12.1 percent, totaling $4.4 billion.
China and France were the second and third largest sources of international visitors, Visa data showed, with China spend up 23.5 percent this peak travel season. China and Canada will celebrate the “Canada-China Year of Tourism” in 2018.
Also, Canadians traveling abroad reported a 4.85 percent increase in spending, with 55.8 percent of that spending in the U.S, far outpacing every other nation Canadians travel to.