Fewer heads rested on Canadian pillows in 2009, but visitors kept splashing the cash while they were here. That’s one of the main takeaways in the Travel Characteristics report for the fourth quarter of 2009 and the year as a whole.

Travel Characteristics is a quarterly report from CTC’s Research department that specifically targets revenue from CTC’s key international markets. It looks at what visitors spend per trip, per night and what they’re spending on. The reports break down the figures into accommodation, food, trip purpose and activities.

Here, some key findings from the 2009 Q4 report:

• Canada said hello to 2.5 million visitors from CTC’s key international markets in Q4 ’09. They spent $1.6 billion while they were here, a 12% year-on-year fall.

• In 2009, the overall spending by the Americas market (US and Mexico) sank 10% to $6.3 billion, with their visitors spending on average 3% per trip than ‘08.

• United States leisure/holiday travel was the biggest investor in Canada’s tourism piggy bank in 2009, bringing in $4.7 billion. The average spend per night rose 1% on ’08, reaching $113.

• However, business travel spending by our American cousins in the meetings, conventions and incentive travel market declined 15% year-on-year, totalling $1.4 billion. Yet these travellers spent $243 per night on average, more than twice that of their leisure counterparts. 

• The Northwest Territories was the biggest beneficiary of American largesse in ’09, with an average $2,712 spent per visit, up 66% on the previous year. Yukon (14%), Saskatchewan (12%), Prince Edward Island (7%) and British Columbia (1%) also saw gains in spending per night. 

• Brazil (10%) samba-ed the way ahead for CTC markets, posting gains in average spend per trip last year. Japan (8%), South Korea (4%), Germany (3%), Australia (2%) and India (1%) also left a positive impression on the ledger.

The commission produces its Travel Characteristics reports mainly using data from Statistics Canada’s International Travel Survey. 

Read the Travel Characteristics Q4 2009 report in full.