Statistics Canada says the Canadian tourism sector shrank by nearly half in 2020 as the disastrous year was capped off by a 3.3% decrease in the fourth quarter. The federal agency says the tourism industry lagged the overall economy, which grew 2.3% in fourth quarter and shrank 5.4% in 2020.

Statistics Canada says tourism jobs fell 28.7% in 2020, with most of the drop occurring in the second quarter.

Within the tourism sector, food and beverage services and accommodation saw the biggest declines in jobs, decreasing by 32.3% and 35.2%, respectively.

In 2020, domestic tourism’s share of total tourism spending in Canada rose to 92.7 per cent from 78.4% in 2019, in light of restrictions on international travel.

In the fourth quarter, domestic tourism spending by Canadians declined 3.4%, with an 18.5% increase in spending on passenger air transport partially offsetting declines in spending on fuel and food and beverage services.