Strong dollar spurs Canadians to travel overseas

Record numbers of Canadian tourists took their summer holidays in overseas countries, according to figures released by Statistics Canada Monday.

Canadians made an unprecedented 1.6 million overnight trips to countries other than the United States between July and September 2006, up 9 per cent from the previous high in the third quarter of 2005.

"Europe continued to be one of the most popular destinations, accounting for seven of the top 10 countries overseas that Canadians visited," the federal agency said. "Topping the list again were the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy."

Canadians also splurged on holidays, spending an estimated $2.6 billion on overseas trips in the third quarter, up 6.1 per cent over the same period in 2005. Some of this surge might be attributable to the strengthening Canadian dollar.

Loonie gains

"The value of the Canadian dollar continued to rise and was stronger against the euro, the Japanese yen and the British pound in the third quarter of 2006, compared to the same period in 2005," the federal agency said.

By comparison, overseas tourists spent about $2.3 billion in Canada over the same time period, down 2.9 per cent from the corresponding span in 2005.

The strong dollar also spurred travel to the United States, with Canadians spending nearly $2.3 billion on overnight trips. In total, 5.2 million Canadians made overnight trips across the border between July and September, up 7.9 per cent from the same period in 2005.

Border states New York, Washington and Michigan drew 2.2 million Canadians on overnight visits. Canadian travellers spent about $250 million on one million overnight visits to New York state, the most popular U.S. tourist destination.

Canadians spent $192 million in third-quarter travel in California, the next most popular U.S. destination.

While air travel increased 8.3 per cent, car travel still proved to be the favoured mode of transportationto crossthe border, accounting for travel in about seven of every 10 overnight trips.