Travel between Canada and other countries up in June: Statistics Canada

THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says Canadians took nearly 2.8 million overnight trips abroad in June — the highest monthly figure in four decades.

The agency says overnight travel was up 5.7 per cent compared to May, with the boost coming from more trips to both the United States and overseas countries.

Overnight trips to the U.S. rose 7.5 per cent to 1.9 million trips in June — also the highest level since 1972.

Most overnight travel was by car, with Canadians taking more than 1.2 million trips.

Statistics Canada says Canadians took 807,000 trips to overseas countries in June, an increase of 1.4 per cent from May and the first time that monthly travel to overseas countries topped the 800,000 mark.

Travel to Canada also rose 0.5 per cent to around 2.1 million trips in June.

Americans took 651,000 same-day car trips to Canada in June, down 1.7 per cent from May, while the number of travellers from other countries rose 0.8 per cent in June to 381,000 trips.

Some 26,000 residents of China visited Canada in June — a 5.5 per cent increase from the month before and the highest monthly figure on record — while the number Italian travellers also grew by 5.5 per cent.

But travel to Canada from India fell 5.4 per cent.

09:02ET 21-08-12