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2003 lean year for tourism

During 2003, international tourism was hit by a number of external shocks that caused many would-be travellers to stay closer to home. According to Statistics Canada, total international tourism fell 1.

During 2003, international tourism was hit by a number of external shocks that caused many would-be travellers to stay closer to home. According to Statistics Canada, total international tourism fell 1.2 per cent, with 694 million tourist arrivals recorded worldwide. This compares to 703 million in the previous year. The regions hardest hit by the disruptions were Asia and the Pacific (—9.3 per cent) and the Americas, which saw a 2.2 per cent drop in visitors. Canada welcomed 38.9 million foreign visitors in 2003, 7.3 million of whom entered the country via B.C. Most were from the U.S. (35.5 million visitors to Canada, and 6.1 million entries to B.C.). New York (1.8 million), Michigan (1.6 million) and Washington (1.5 million) were the main sources of U.S. visitors to Canada in 2003. California (866,000) was ranked fourth among states.