This isn’t good news for retailers that rely on tourism. In March, the number of trips to Canada by US residents decreased 6.6% year over year to 1.2 million trips. The number of trips to Canada by overseas residents fell 17.4%, marking a sixth consecutive month of year-over-year declines, reported Statistics Canada on Thursday.
The number of Canadian-resident return trips from abroad (United States and overseas combined) was also down in March, declining 14.9% compared with the same month in 2024, it said.
“In March, US resident trips to Canada (1.2 million) declined year over year for a second consecutive month, down 6.6% from March 2024. Arrivals by automobile (881,900) were down 8.7% year over year in March 2025, marking a second consecutive month of year-over-year declines. Over half (56.3%) of these arrivals were same-day trips. Meanwhile, air arrivals (321,200) were up 2.2% from March 2024. Other US residents disembarked in Canada from cruise ships (1,400) in March, marking the start of the 2025 cruise ship season,” stated Statistics Canada.
“In March, 286,600 overseas residents arrived in Canada, marking a 17.4% decline and the sixth consecutive month of year-over-year decreases. The majority (87.7%) of overseas-resident arrivals in March were by air. The year-over-year decline in overseas-resident arrivals in March was primarily attributable to fewer arrivals from the Americas (excluding the United States) (-19.5%), Europe (-18.6%) and Asia (-14.4%). Europe is Canada’s largest source market for overseas travellers, followed by Asia and the Americas (excluding the United States). In March, the top three countries of residence for overseas visitors were the United Kingdom (32,800), Mexico (28,500) and France (25,100), accounting for 30.1% of all overseas arrivals in Canada.”
Related Retail Insider stories:
