VANCOUVER — Destination Canada’s (DC) latest Tourism Snapshot indicates continued tourism growth through March and the first quarter of 2018 (up 15.1 per cent and 9.3 per cent year-over-year, respectively). In Q1 2018, Canada welcomed 3.1-million visitors — representing a record high for the quarter.
A surge in overnight arrivals in March 2018 from Mexico (up 41 per cent), the U.S. (up 16.2 per cent) and the U.K. (up 9.5 per cent) was, in part, associated with travels coinciding with the Easter holiday period. March arrivals from these markets contributed to their performances over Q1 2018, with Mexico leading the way (up 28.2 per cent), followed by arrivals from the U.S. (up 8.9 per cent), while the U.K. (down 0.1 per cent) recaptured losses sustained over the first two months of the year.
March was also characterized by robust performances from DC’s Asia-Pacific Region, with China (up 34.2 per cent), India (up 30.1 per cent), South Korea (up 22.9 per cent) and Australia (up 9.4 per cent) all reaching new peak-arrival levels. Strong arrivals from these countries helped counter a 16.6-per-cent contraction in arrivals from Japan.
Year-over-year comparison of national hotel indicators also reveals a positive trend. Occupancy for the month increased by 1.2 percentage points, while RevPAR and ADR grew by 5.5 per cent and 7.5 per cent respectively.
The complete report is available here.
