A Statistics Canada report released Wednesday indicates tourism spending in Canada increased 4.2 per cent in the second quarter, following a 2.5 per cent decrease in the first quarter.
Tourism gross domestic product (GDP) (+4.0 per cent) and jobs attributable to tourism (+1.0 per cent) also increased in the second quarter, said the federal agency.
“The COVID-19 pandemic had a continued economic impact in the second quarter. Throughout this period, restrictions were both expanded and eased in many regions, similar to the previous quarter. The vaccination campaign that began late in the fourth quarter of 2020 also ramped up throughout the second quarter of 2021,” said StatsCan.
“The increase in tourism spending in the second quarter was mostly driven by spending on accommodation services (+6.1 per cent) and food and beverage services (+4.3 per cent). Overall, tourism spending in Canada in the second quarter was 55.4 per cent lower than the pre-pandemic levels in the fourth quarter of 2019.”
The report said tourism GDP rose four per cent in the second quarter, following a 1.9 per cent decline in the previous quarter. Economy-wide, GDP declined 0.3 per cent in the second quarter, in large part due to falling exports and home ownership transfer costs, which did not have the same impact on the tourism sector, said Statistics Canada.
“Increases in accommodation (+4.5 per cent), non-tourism industries (+3.0 per cent) and food and beverage services (+3.8 per cent) contributed most to the rise in tourism GDP in the second quarter,” it said.
“Employment attributable to tourism increased 1.0 per cent in the second quarter, following a 4.7 per cent decline in the first quarter. Gains in food and beverage services (+3.1 per cent) and in recreation and entertainment (+6.3 per cent) more than offset the declines in air transportation (-8.5 per cent) and travel services (-5.9 per cent). Overall, employment growth in Canada was flat in the second quarter and tourism’s share of employment remained at 2.4 per cent.”
