15 JAN 2019: Statistics Canada released a report that shows that tourism spending in Canada increased last year, resulting in a boost to the GDP and growth of jobs in the tourism sector. The numbers confirm that tourism is a vital and growing part of the Canadian economy.

From January to September of 2018, tourism spending in Canada was $80.8 billion, an increase of 5.9 percent compared to the same period in 2017.

Domestic revenues edged up 6.9 percent to almost $63.3 billion, and tourism revenues from international travellers increased 2.3 percent to $17.5 billion.

In the first nine months of 2018, tourism activities directly accounted for $33.9 billion of Canada’s GDP, an increase of 5.9 percent over the same period in 2017.

Tourism directly accounted for over 750,000 jobs from January to September 2018, an increase of 1.3 percent compared to the same period in 2017.

From 2014 to 2017, Canada’s tourism sector gained ground by almost every measure.

International arrivals in Canada grew by an average of 8 percent per year and the tourism sector’s contribution to GDP grew by an average of 4.6 percent per year.

From 2014 to 2017, the number of jobs in Canada’s tourism sector grew by an average of 1.7 percent per year.