We're still not out of the woods but some improvements are seen in our tourism sector.... check out the Canadian Tourism's review of 2010 Tourism by US Leisure Sector below (our biggest market)and visit the link for complete statistics. Note that the age group of 55+ is our biggest market. I expect we'll see even more from that age group as the infamous baby boomers are just now starting to retire this year. That means downsizing the home is coming and leisure trips will go up. At least they're one group that will have the disposable money to spend so let's attract them!!!
US Leisure
• In 2010, the US had a more sluggish than expected economic recovery, with GDP growth of 2.9%. By the end of the year, economists reported weaker than expected consumer spending, along with declines in construction spending, durable goods orders and home building sales, a reflection of the lingering effects of the 2008-2009 recession. This cooler economic environment impacted both US leisure and business travel in 2010, with slower than expected growth compared with the previous year.
• US leisure travel represents Canada’s largest inbound travel market, accounting for 63% of all
inbound travellers in 2010. US leisure travel to Canada outperformed business travel in 2010, with a moderate increase of 0.9% over 2009.
• While leisure travel to Canada declined in the first two quarters of 2010, the last two quarters saw increases of 2.8% in Q3 and 4.0% in Q4.
• Total spending by US leisure travellers of one or more nights improved in 2010, up 2.8% overall, with the average nightly spend increasing 3.4% to $116.
• This year saw an 8.6% increase in the number of overnight US leisure travellers in who were 55 years of age or older. This age demographic represents the largest segment among US leisure visitors to Canada, accounting for 46.7% of all overnight US leisure
visitors to Canada in 2010. • Experiencing nature became more popular in this market with visiting aquariums/botanical gardens and zoos (+7.9%) and visiting nature parks (+7.2%) both
climbing in 2010.
• In 2010, Québec (+4.2%), British Columbia (+2.0%), Alberta (+1.7%) saw increases in province visits in 2010, while Ontario (-2.1%) experienced a decline. US Meetings Conventions and Incentive Travel (MC&IT)
• US overnight MC&IT travel is Canada’s second largest inbound market after US overnight leisure travel.
• In 2010, 1.7 million US MC&IT overnight travellers visited Canada, a moderate 0.2% decline over the previous year. Of those travellers, 65.8% were male and 64.1% were 45 years of age or older.
• Total spending by this market increased by 3.0% reaching, $1.4 billion, with the average spend per business trip increasing 3.2% to $815.
• The volume of business travellers to Canada saw a staggered recovery in 2010, improving in the 2nd and 4th quarters of 2010, helping to offset the reduced growth in the 1st and 3rd quarters.
• US MC&IT travel to Alberta (-4.9%) and Ontario (-4.0%) slowed in 2010, while Québec (+5.8%) and British Columbia (0.6%) had an increased number of province visits.
• This year, there was a 17.9% increase in interest in attending cultural events among US MC&IT travellers, followed by increases in visiting museums and art galleries (+10.9%) and visiting historic sites (+9.4%) compared with the top activities of 2009.
Source: Canadian Tourism, Tourism Snapshot 2010
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