Some basic observations about Canada and Québec

In 2007, Business Research and Economic Advisors (BREA) calculated that 2 million cruise passengers visited Canada during nearly 1,000 calls. In total, the industry generated some $2.3 billion and created 16,600 jobs. BREA estimates that 6% of this money was spent in Québec while 21% was spent in the Maritimes. In 2009, Québec welcomed some 166,000 passengers and 63,000 crew members. According to estimates from the Québec Ministère du Tourisme, cruise passenger spending will rise from $73 million to $275 million by 2014, an annual growth rate of 17%.

Table 1: St. Lawrence River ports in 2009:
Number of calls and number of passengers

Source: Visitor statistics from 2006 to 2010, compiled by the Québec Ministère du Tourisme

The Maritimes

A well-established cruise destination, the Maritimes have engaged in promotional and representational efforts for many years. They can be considered both competitors and business partners, because Maritime calls can enhance the itineraries of cruises headed to Québec.

The primary ports of call are Charlottetown, Gros-Morne, Halifax, Saint John and Sydney. Though history is the main attraction (museums, heritage sites, historic villages), outdoor recreational activities are also a big draw (hiking, beaches, kayaking, golf, whale-watching and other excursions). Table 2 illustrates the cruise visitor numbers recorded for the year 2009 in the major Maritime ports of call; Québec City was added by way of comparison.

Table 2: Cruise statistics for the Maritimes – 2009

* 2008 data

According to a 2008 study by the PEI Tourism Research Centre, 80% of the cruise passengers visiting Charlottetown came from the United States, 69% were 55 years or older and 85% were on their first visit to the Maritimes.

Source: Vacationstogo.com

New England

Let us take a closer look at our neighbours to the south. New England benefits enormously from its proximity to the major client bases of New York and Boston, which are the departure points for numerous cruises heading to Canada, as well as those for Bermuda and the Caribbean. The table below provides a brief overview of the cruise industry spin-offs generated in New England.

Table 3: Overview of the cruise statistics for New England – 2008

Source: CLIA, 2008 State Economic Fact Sheets

According to these findings, the state of New Jersey attracts fewer passengers than the province of Québec. However, according to figures from BREA, Québec attracted far fewer cruise-related spin-offs, generating only $138 million in 2007, compared to $387 million for New Jersey in 2008. In terms of employment, all of Eastern Canada (including the Maritimes) generated only 2,000 cruise-related jobs, compared to the 6,814 for New Jersey recorded by the CLIA.

Cruise Maine presents the change over time in the number of cruise ship calls since 2003.

Table 4: Number of stopovers in Maine ports, 2003 to 2009

*Projected figures
Source: Cruise Maine

According to a 2008 study by Todd Gabe and Jim McConnon, two economists from the University of Maine, cruise passenger spending injects approximately $5.8 million to $8 million into the Portland regional economy each year. On average, a single passenger spends about $81 per day, the major part of it spent as follows:

• food – $28
• clothing – $21
• arts and jewellery – $6
• household items – $5
• transportation – $5

In 2008, Portland welcomed a total of 48,000 passengers, during 35 calls. In 2009, the numbers rose to 69,852 passengers during 45 calls. Reservations for 2010 are predicting 76,867 passengers during 70 calls.

The Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea region is booming. Europeans are increasingly attracted to the area and North Americans are also showing greater interest in these destinations. The biggest consumers of cruises, North Americans are already well-acquainted with destinations like the Caribbean, the American West Coast and Alaska. The search for new destinations has led them to look at Mediterranean and Northern European cruises. The Baltic Region’s position on the cruise market is, in many ways, similar to that of the St. Lawrence: a destination offering culture, history, Northern landscapes, outdoor activities, coastal villages, etc.

Source: Vacationtogo.com

Baltic Sea destinations vary widely in terms of economic spin-offs and port facilities.

Table 5: Most popular Baltic Sea ports: wharf length and cruise statistics – 2008-2009

Source: Cruise Europe.com

Port facilities in the Baltic Region are undergoing numerous improvements. The city of St. Petersburg has built a new terminal for cruise passengers that should be completed sometime in 2010. Hamburg inaugurated its new cruise terminal in August 2009. The CLIA also reports that Stockholm, which has been operating one new terminal since 2008, will be opening another in 2010. It will house a museum of photography, among other things.

The Baltic Region has also decided to take steps to reduce the environmental impact of cruises by pushing the Clean Baltic Shipping Program. This plan has five main objectives:

• encourage ships with low sulphur and nitrogen emissions
• reward the initiatives that best reduce the environmental impact
• introduce a certification process
• equip all boats with wastewater treatment systems
• install a wharf-based power supply system for every port in the region by 2015

All signs indicate that St. Lawrence ports are competing in an increasingly well-organized and diverse market. This means it is vital to continue developing port facilities and, more importantly, work to create a high-quality product that stands out from the competition.

Article written for the Ministère du Tourisme intelligence gathering project

Sources:
- Business Research & Economic Advisors (BREA). “The Economic Contribution of the International Cruise Industry in Canada 2007,” NorthWest CruiseShip Association, Cruise Newfoundland and Labrador, Cruise the Saint Lawrence, Atlantic Canada Cruise Association, Cruise BC, p. 4.
- Cruise Europe, Cruiseeurope.com.
- Cruise Line International Association (CLIA). “2008 State Economic Fact Sheets”, Cruiseindustryfacts.com, consulted January 2010.
- Cruise Line International Association. “Fantastic Cruise Record for Stockholm, Fast Facts”, November 2009, p. 3.
- Cruise Maine, Cruisemaineusa.com.
- “Cruise ships brought $3M to P.E.I. in 2008”, Telegraph Journal, May 2nd, 2009.
- Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation. Backgrounder Year-End: “Provincial Tourism Performance 2009 and Early Tourism Outlook 2010”, New Foundland and Labrador, Tcr.gov.nl.ca, consulted June 23, 2010.
- Malhère, Manon. “Baltic Region: OPS for Sustainable Port Development”, Europolitics Regional, Europolitics.info October 12, 2009.
- Ministère du Tourisme.  “Les statistiques d’achalandage de 2006 à 2010”, 2010, special compilation.
- Peter, Tom. “Cruising right along; Ports officials pleased with tourist season”, The Chronicles Herald, Halifaxemployers.com, January 4, 2010.
- UK and EIRE, “Seatrade Cruise Review”, Seatrade Communications, September 2008, p. 45.
- Sondage effectué auprès des passagers et membres d’équipage au cours de la saison 2009, ministère du Tourisme, 2009.

Whale watching is still the fastest growing sector of general wildlife tourism worldwide and this is important for Québec, since marine tourism is a lucrative activity. According to a recent report, 13 million people went whale watching in 119 countries in 2008, compared to 9 million in 87 countries in 1998.(1) In the past 10 years, the whale watching industry has grown at an average rate of 3.7% globally, although with slight variations. For example, it grew by 13% in Asia, Central America and the Caribbean, by 10% in South America, Oceania and the Pacific Islands and by 7% in Europe. Although North America remains the largest whale-watching destination as it hosts almost 50% of all whale watchers worldwide (Table 1), the sector’s growth there has slowed to 1.5% per year.

Québec in the context of Northeastern America

Marine wildlife observation, particularly whale watching, is a well established part of the nature experience in Québec and the hotspot for this remains the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park (SSLMP). In this area covering 1,245 km2, a variety of marine creatures (including rare species such as belugas and blue whales) can regularly be spotted, even in close proximity to the shore.

Although the number of whale watchers has grown internationally, a general decline has been observed in the last 10 years along the Atlantic coast of North America. Québec is an exception, posting modest growth between 1998 and 2008 (Figure 1). Meanwhile, fewer visitors participated in whale watching in neighbouring destinations, with numbers declining by 25% in New England but only slightly in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

The impact of fewer whale watchers along the Atlantic coast of North America in the past 10 years is a drop in the number of tour operators offering whale-watching activities (Figure 2). However, the reduced number of tour operators in Québec is due primarily to business consolidation.

Total expenditures attributed to whale watching are the highest in New England along the Atlantic coast, despite the decline in the number of whale watchers in the area (Figure 3). In this area, the industry generates $138.45 per whale watcher, with international clients comprising about 15% of the market. Québec ranks second in total expenditures, generating an average of $142.55 per whale watcher, with international clients making up about 20% of the market.(1)

Tourism in Québec’s whale-watching hotspot

In the SSLMP area, statistics show that an estimated 274,000 visitors took part in commercial boat-based whale watching in 2005, while the number of kayakers was over 35,000 per year. A further 60,000 participated in land-based whale watching at various locations around the marine park. Although about 40% of visitors were on day trips, another 60% spent an average of 3.2 nights in the marine park area and 40% were repeat visitors. (2) Whale watching clearly has a positive economic impact, but tourism benefits the park’s resource management very little or not at all because tour companies are not required to spend any of their profits on conservation efforts.(3) However, a few tour companies are associated with GREMM, a non-profit organization dedicated to scientific research on the marine mammals of the St. Lawrence and education for the conservation of the marine environment. Visitors can contribute directly to GREMM’s efforts by becoming a member, visiting the museum in Tadoussac and participating in initiatives such as the ‘adopt a whale’ program. (4)

Although whale watchers are generally satisfied with their visit to the marine park,(5) there is also growing concern that the services offered are not entirely meeting demand, meaning a proportion of people may not be getting what they want out of their wildlife-viewing trip. According to recent visitor surveys, while visitors are generally very satisfied with the area, the educational component is weaker, with surveys showing only 46% of visitors are satisfied with their learning experience. This suggests that education and learning are not fully integrated into the visitor experiences currently offered. The fact that the majority of visitors observe wildlife from large motorized boats and cruise ships is an indication that marine wildlife viewing is very much oriented to “mass” nature tourism. Some visitors also express concerns that several tour boat operators seem to be chasing after whales.

Tourism is a closely monitored activity in the park and, since the implementation of special regulations in 2002,(6) amongst other measures, tour boat operators are required to have a permit, follow speed limits and respect distance requirements when approaching marine mammals. As belugas are endangered, they must be excluded from observation activities completely. At the present time, the tourism industry has been granted 59 observation permits, divided amongst some 16 companies. Although the marine park is vast, most boats leave from the quays at Baie-Sainte Catherine and Tadoussac, generating intense maritime traffic of about 80,000 trips per year. The resulting environmental impacts are numerous and include noise, traffic and collisions with marine mammals.(7)

Where to next?

The whale-watching industry has reached a certain maturity in Québec, compared to other destinations, although it appears to be a viable activity for now in the context of the North American Atlantic coast. Some of the issues raised in the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park suggest that the tourism sector could reassess its approach to operations management and work to find a balanced co-existence with conservation. It is in the industry’s interest to manage wildlife observation more responsibly, so perhaps there is a need for a sector-wide educational toolkit, as well as some voluntary measures, such as certification and a code of ethics for responsible operations.

The local tourism industry could also collectively reconsider how to positively contribute to the conservation value of the park, since it is a protected area and an industry hotspot. Other things to review include the type of experiences offered, and what actions could be taken to ensure that the interests of the growing, and more eco-conscious, responsible travel market are also met. The park and industry alike could benefit by making interpretation a more integral part of the visitor experiences offered. Besides teaching people about conservation issues, they could encourage a variety of other low-impact activities already offered in the wider Saguenay region, such as those along the Whale Route.

Sources:

(1) O’Connor, S., Campbell, R., Cortez, H., & Knowles, T. (2009) Whale Watching Worldwide: Tourism numbers, expenditures and expanding economic benefits, a special report from the International Fund for Animal Welfare, Yarmouth, MA, USA, prepared by Economists at Large.

(2) Parks Canada. (2005) Visitor Survey. Québec Service Centre, Parks Canada Agency.

(3) Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park. (2008) Report of the public consultations on the Review of the Management Plan. Saguenay St. Lawrence  Marine Park. 43 p.

(4) Group of Research and Education on Marine Mammals (GREMM). Last accessed Oct 13, 2009. http://www.gremm.org

(5) Gosselin, D. and Priskin, J. (2009) Présentation dans le cadre de l’atelier de travail collectif sur les activités en mer au Parc marin du Saguenay—Saint-Laurent. September 9-10, 2009, Tadoussac.

(6) Marine Activities in the Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park Regulations. Last accessed Oct 13, 2009. http://www.parcmarin.qc.ca/1942_an.html

(7) Gareau, D., Pagé, M., Balej, R., Langlois, D. and Désaulniers, J. (2009) Activités en mer au parc marin du Saguenay-Saint-Laurent. Document de reflexion 2009 aux fins de discussion. Parc marin du Saguenay-Saint-Laurent, Tadoussac. 30 p.

Collaborative Initiatives

To date none of the 21 tourism regions had produced a comprehensive regional scale sustainable development strategy with a clearly articulated vision, set of achievable short and long-term objectives and progress measure indicators. Yet, tourism is an important economic activity in Québec and in 12 regions it directly generates at least 3% of all income (3). Tourism has much more potential to be sustainable, since most regions have rich natural and cultural resource bases and diversified economies. Although natural resource exploitation forms the foundation of many regions across Québec, there is much untapped potential to expand tourism in these areas, thereby achieving greater economic integration. Untapped potentials also remain between biodiversity conservation and tourism development on private and public lands besides the protected area networks managed by the Provicial Parks Authority, la Sépaq and Parks Canada.

In some regions such as the Laurentians, concrete initiatives have been undertaken towards strategically integrating tourism into the regional economy through the Provincial Government’s Accord Program (4). In other regions a shift towards increased collaboration between stakeholders is occurring by the establishment of various cooperatives. Examples include the Lac Saint Pierre Biosphere Reserve (5), l’Échappé Bleue (6), Le Parc Aventures Cap Jaseux (7) and V.E.R.T.E. cooperatives (8). There are probably numerous other locally driven projects, but to nobody has examined their socio-economic value or general importance.

There are also 23 territorial areas across Québec with Local Agenda 21 (LA21) strategies (9) and one of the best examples with a strong tourism orientation includes the municipality of Baie-Saint-Paul. There, an LA21 process and willingness and leadership by certain stakeholders continue to enable greater community interaction as part of the redevelopment planning of Le Massif Resort (10).

Operational Changes to Improve Performance

Some tourism operations have a longer history of functioning according to sustainability ideals such as the Le Baluchon rural resort (11) and the zoos in Granby and Saint-Félicien (12, 13). However, very few businesses have a transparent Corporate Social Responsibility strategies, such as those published by the Granby Zoo(12) and Transat AT (14). Many tourism operations have reduced their energy and water use and waste output via different mechanisms, but their overall impact is not evaluated. Hotels in Québec seem to be making visible progress, especially since the Québec Hotel Association has its own Reser-Vert certification program (15), and the CITQ also recently modified its rating system to include environmental considerations and carries out checks on behalf of the Canadian Hotels Associations of Green Key rated establishments (16). Since recent years, numerous events including conferences and festivals are increasingly organized as ecologically and socially responsible, such as Montreal’s International Jazz Festival (17). Many other tourism operations also have supply chain management policies and source various products locally and or produced responsibly. Abitibi-Témiscamingue is the first ‘green’ Tourism Region awarded by Recyc-Québec for achieving more than 80% waste recuperation for its office operations (18).

Besides environmental efforts, some tourism businesses are also making contributions to improving north-south relations. For example, L’Auberge l’Autre Jardin (19) has been directly providing financial benefits to developing countries via its support of Carrefour Tiers Monde. Similar actions can be observed by Parc Safari that sells fair-trade products from developing nations (20). Sustainability news about small and medium enterprises (SME) in Québec is not well documented, which suggests limited progress. Since SMEs comprise about the majority of the tourism industry (21), it might be worthwhile to examine their progress, and issues so that appropriate tools could help them implement change towards sustainability.

Quebec’s tourism includes a variety of products to help reduce its greenhouse gas emissions such as a vast bike network developed by Vélo-Québec (22), the Bixi bike in Montreal (23) and the bio buses in Old Quebec and Montreal (24). Some businesses and events are also carbon neutral, but their profiles and numbers has not been documented. For example, Karavaniers du monde is the first tour operator in Quebec to include the cost of carbon offsets in its pricing (25). Climate change does not seem to be a preoccupation of the Quebec tourism sector, despite the vulnerability status of some products notably ski, snowmobile and various other outdoor activities (26).

Some sub sectors in Québec have a long history of encouraging businesses and visitors alike to reduce their environmental impact, notably Québec’s Adventure and Ecotourism Association (27). How many visitors to and from Quebec travel environmentally consciously is not known. Undoubtedly Québecois travelers are increasingly ethically minded. Since 88% of tourists in Québec are of domestic origin, consumers locally need more indication about industry’s progress so they can choose responsibly (28).

Where to next?

Various operational changes to improve environmental and social performance of the tourism sector are occurring at all scales, but nobody knows the real progress in the absence of benchmark indicators. Québec is not ahead nor behind other Canadian Provinces but there has not been a national study to compare progress at this scale. Québec’s tourism sector is in the beginning phase of operationalizing sustainable tourism and the above examples highlight the need for a Provincial scale action plan combined with a set of feasible progress indicators.

The support tools and knowledge network to put sustainable tourism principles into action is growing across Québec, and numerous institutions offer special training to improve human resource capacity, in responsible environmental managers that is directly applicable to tourism (29).

There is also a growing amount of effective tools and mechanisms reported from outside Québec to help implement change rapidly and help sustain a viable and responsible industry sector. However, local leadership remains an important key driver to implementing any action plan. There needs to be more leadership from government and industry to move the fragmented sub-sectors forward and to provide a coordinated approach to the entire process in Québec. The tools are wide ranging, and many remain unexplored potentials in Québec, including financial incentives and voluntary measures.

Sources:

1. Ministère du Tourisme du Québec (2005) Towards a Sustainable Tourism. Tourism Policy of Québec. Governemenet du Québec: Québec City. 37 p.

2. La Fédération des clubs de motoneigistes du Québec (2008) Plan d’action quinquennal de la FCMQ pour l’environnement. La Fédération des clubs de motoneigistes du Québec (FCQM): Montreal. 8 p.

3. Sauvé, R. La reconnaissance de l’industrie touristique dans l’économie locale et régionale. Presentation at the International Symposium on the Sustainable Development of Tourism. March 17 to 19, 2009. Québec City, Canada. Available at: http://www.bonjourquebec.com/mto/activites/symposium-developpement-durable/fr/programme-mercredi.html

4. Ministère du développement Économique Innovation et Exportation. Accord Program. Last accessed 14 April, 2009. [http://www.mdeie.gouv.qc.ca/index.php?id=3715]

5. La réserve mondiale de la biosphère du Lac-Saint-Pierre. Coopérative de solidarité de la réserve mondiale de la biosphère du Lac-Saint-Pierre. Last accessed 14 April, 2009. [http://www.biospherelac-st-pierre.qc.ca/content/cooperative.html].

6. L’Échappé Bleue. L’Échappée bleue. Coopérative de Tourisme durable. Last accessed 14 April, 2009. [http://www.lechappeebleue.com].

7. Le Parc Aventures Cap Jaseux. Qui sommes-nous. Last accessed 14 April, 2009. [http://www.capjaseux.com/-Qui-sommes-nous-.html].

8. La Coop V.E.R.T.E. Qui nous sommes? Last accessed 14 April, 2009. [http://www.coopverte.com/coopverte/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=19&Itemid=37].

9. Gagnon, C. and E. Arth. Guide des Agendas 21e siècle locaux. Les Agendas 21e siècle locaux québécois. Last accessed 14 April, 2009. [http://www.a21l.qc.ca/9544_fr.html].

10. Le Massif. Territoire Le Massif. The development project. Last accessed  14 April, 2009. [http://www.lemassif.com/en/territoire_le_massif/the_development_project.php].

11. Le Baluchon. About the Baluchon. Last accessed 14 April, 2009. [http://www.baluchon.com/inn-accomodation/index_ang.cfm].

12. Zoo Granby (2006) Réalisations en responsabilité sociale et environnementale. Zoo de Granby: Granby. 24 p.

13. Zoo Sauvage de Saint-Félicien. Au sujet du CCBB/Zoo Sauvage. Last accessed 14 April, 2009. [http://www.borealie.org/page.php/fr/1/4.htm].

14. Transat A.T. (2008) Transat for Sustainable Tourism. 2008 Corporate Social Responsibility Report. Transat AT Inc: Montreal, Québec. 44 p.

15. L’Association des hôteliers du Québec. RéserVert, le Programme de reconnaissance en développement durable. Last accessed 14 April, 2009. [http://www.reservert.com/fr/page.php?label=r%E9servertleprogramme].

16. Corporation de l’industrie touristique du Québec. CITQ is mandated by the Hotel Association of Canada for the Green Key Eco-Rating Program visits. Last accessed 14 April, 2009. [http://www.citq.info/EN/classification.asp].

17. Festival International de Jazz de Montréal. Une édition 2008 carbon neutre. Last accessed 14 April, 2009. [http://www.montrealjazzfest.com/Fijm2008/planetAir_fr.aspx].

18. Bisson, K. Là où commence un tourisme plus vert. Last accessed 16 April, 2009. [http://lafrontiere.canoe.ca/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentid=87930&id=836&classif=].

19. L’Auberge Autre Jardins. Mission et historique. Last accessed 15 April, 2009. [http://www.autrejardin.com/auberge.php].

20. Ranger, J.-P. Tourisme durable. Parc Safari. Presentation at the International Symposium on the Sustainable Development of Tourism. March 17 to 19, 2009 Québec City, Canada. Available at http://www.bonjourquebec.com/mto/activites/symposium-developpement-durable/fr/programme-mercredi.html

21. Ministère du Tourisme du Québec. Programmes et services aux entreprises touristiques. Last accessed 15 April, 2009.  [http://www.bonjourquebec.com/mto/ministere/index.asp].

22. Laraue, S. Tourisme durable et velo. Presentation at the International Symposium on the Sustainable Development of Tourism. March 17 to 19, 2009 Québec City, Canada. Available at http://www.bonjourquebec.com/mto/activites/symposium-developpement-durable/fr/programme-mardi.html

23. Montreal Tourism. BIXI: Montreal’s Brand New Public Bike System. Last accessed 15 April, 2009. [http://www.tourisme-montreal.org/Press/Whats-hot/News/bixi-montreal-s-brand-new-public-bike-system].

24. Société de Transport de Montréal. For one year, 155 STM buses to run on biodiesel in downtown Montreal (Press Release). Last accessed 15 April, 2009. [http://www.stm.info/English/info/a-biofiche.htm].

25. Karavaniers du monde. Cuba. Mère des Caraïbes. Informations Techniques. Last accessed 15 April, 2009. [http://www.karavaniers.com/voyages/calendrier/?voyage_depart=134].

26. Singh, B. and C. Bryant (2006) Impact et adaptation aux changements climatiques pour les activités de ski et de golf et l’industrie touristique : le cas du Québec. Rapport préparé pour Ouranos Inc. Département de géographie, Université de Montréal: Montréal. 404 p.

27. Aventure Écotourisme Québec. Leave No Trace Program. Last accessed 15 April, 2009. [http://www.aventure-ecotourisme.qc.ca/content/templates/content_en.asp?articleid=46&zoneid=10].

28. Tourisme Québec (2009) Le tourisme au Québec en bref – 2007. Ministère du Tourisme du Québec: Québec. 16 p.

29. Villeneuve, V. Chaire en éco-conseil. Last accessed 15 April, 2009. [http://www.uqac.ca/recherche/organismes/chaire_ecoconseil.php].

Fewer U.S. visitors to Canada

The marked decline in the number of Americans travelling to Canada is of concern to the entire tourism industry, although the drop has not affected all the provinces in the same way. In fact, from 2000 to 2004, compared to the other Canadian provinces, Quebec appears to have been less affected by the Americans’ decision to desert Canada.

If we do a monthly comparison of U.S. arrivals to Canada in 2000 and 2004 (Graph 1), the slump is proportionally less significant during the summer months (June: -18.8%, July: -16.5% and August: 19%). However, in absolute numbers, losses are the highest during the months of the high season (July: 981,777 visitors and August: -1,079,657 visitors).

Major drop in same-day visitors

It is important to note that 98% of the decline in U.S. visitors to Canada is due to a sharp drop in same-day visitors, a situation that affects Ontario in particular since this province welcomed three-quarters (74.4%) of the total U.S. same-day visitors in 2000 (Table 2). From 2000 to 2004, the number of same-day visitors to Ontario fell by over 7.5 million.

Therefore, if we look solely at the number of tourists (Graph 2), the decline in the U.S. travel market is much lower, proportionally speaking. In fact, from 2000 to 2004, the number of Americans spending one night or more in the country dropped a mere 1.11%. During the same period, Quebec even recorded an increase of 3.38%.

2002: Base year or exception?

In 2002, Canada welcomed a record high of 16.17 million U.S. tourists. This increase of nearly 650,000 tourists compared to 2001 occurred at a time when the number of U.S. travellers to international destinations plummeted 1.3 million. Of course, this extraordinary performance can be explained, in part, by the public’s reaction to the events of 2001: travellers sought safety by staying close to home.

The 2002 increase was fuelled primarily by a jump in leisure travel since the number of business tourists in this record year only reached 1.96 million, a decrease compared to the 2.16 million recorded in 2000 (Graph 3). Furthermore, for the past several years, business travel has made up a proportionally smaller share of Canada’s U.S. travel market.

2005: The true decline begins

Preliminary data for the year 2005 (January to October) illustrate a trend of concern to the entire Canadian tourism industry, particularly that in Quebec.

This drop appears to be due to border markets, because in the first ten months of 2005, the number of American tourists arriving by car dropped 13.5%, while the number of those using other modes of transportation increased 6.4%.

Americans travelling to see the world

In 2004, Americans travelled abroad as never before, surpassing the record set in 2000 (61.8 million vs. 61.3 million). However, during this same period, Canada recorded a decrease of nearly 175,000 U.S. tourists. An analysis of the regions visited (Table 4) demonstrates a major shift in the international travel habits of Americans.

According to Table 4, non-traditional destinations are enjoying an upswing in interest on the part of American travellers. At the same time, traditional destinations (Canada, Mexico and Western Europe) saw their market shares drop sharply from 2000 to 2004 (Graph 4).

Preliminary data from the U.S. government for the period January 1 to September 1, 2005, show that U.S. air traffic to overseas destinations rose 5%. Once again, Central America (+14%), Asia (+10%), South America (+9%) and the Middle East (+8%) recorded increases superior to that of Europe (+3%).

The Canadian tourism industry, which still hopes to repeat the success of 2002, must accept that things will never get “back to normal” because American and global realities have been so profoundly altered.

The situation according to the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC)

In the fall of 2005, the CTC formed a task force to examine the U.S. market. Its preliminary findings seem to confirm that Canada cannot blame factors like SARS, the war in Iraq, exchange rates or border-crossing issues for the country’s failure to attract U.S. tourists. The Americans interviewed by the CTC note that while they have no specific reasons for staying away from Canada, they are not motivated to come here either. This means that Canada is not successfully distinguishing itself from other destinations in an increasingly competitive field. The CTC’s final report is expected in late January 2006.

Sources:
- Canadian Tourism Commission. “US market taskforce expands mandate,” Tourism, Vol. 002, Issue 11, November-December 2005.
- Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Recreation. “Regional Tourism Profile – Provincial Markets Shares”, www.tourism.gov.on.ca/english/tourdiv/research/rtp/2003/
ComparitiveReportsProvinces/index.html
- Statistics Canada. “International Travel Survey,” Catalogue No. 66-001-PIB, January 2000 to October 2005.
- U.S. Department of Commerce, ITA, Office of Travel and Tourism Industries. “U.S. Citizen Air Traffic to Overseas Regions, Canada; Mexico 2005,” www.tinet.ita.doc.gov, 2005.
- U.S. Department of Commerce, ITA, Office of Travel and Tourism Industries. “U.S. Resident Travel Abroad Historical Visitation – Outbound 1994-2004,” July 2005.