Canada's travel deficit widens

The gap between what Canadians spend abroad and what tourists spend in Canada widened in the second quarter of 2011, to $3.9 billion.

That was a 3.1 per cent increase from the previous quarter, Statistics Canada said.

Americans took fewer trips to Canadian tourist destinations last quarter. CBC

Canadians spent $8 billion abroad in the April-to-June period. That was an increase of 4.4 per cent. At the same, foreign tourists spent $4.1 billion in Canada, a 5.7 per cent gain. That was the largest quarterly advance since the first three months of 2004.

Much of the deficit consisted of the gap between Canadian and U.S. travelers to each others' countries. Canadians spent $4.8 billion in the United States during the period, while American tourists spent $1.8 billion here — a total deficit of $3 billion.

The Canadian dollar gained 1.8 per cent on the U.S. dollar during the time frame, to an average value of $1.03 US.

Spending by Canadians in countries that aren't the United States was up five per cent to a new high of $3.2 billion in the second quarter. The number of trips Canadians took to overseas countries increased to its highest level since record keeping began in 1972 during the period.

Meanwhile, travelers from overseas countries spent $2.3 billion in Canada in the second quarter, up 5.7 per cent. This was the strongest increase since the fourth quarter of 2007.

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