The sky’s no longer the limit for Canada travel. For the first time since Jan.’05, overnight air travel to Canada from all of the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC)’s key markets surged upward, reports the latest Tourism Snapshot for August 2010, just published by CTC’s Research department.  

Here are some other key findings:

• The number of overnight visitors from the United States took a 0.9% dip in Aug. ’10, despite a rise in air (5%) and “other” travel (2%).

• That trend was reflected in the year-to-date total of visitors from south of the border: 8.4 million trips represented a 0.4% slip on the first eight months of ’09.

• Yukon (10%), New Brunswick (9%) and Saskatchewan (7%) have been the biggest beneficiaries of American travel largesse up to Aug. ’10.

• Approximately 2.4 million overnight international visitors poured through passport control in Aug. ’10, up 2% on the same month last year.

• August also notched the third consecutive month of improvement in total overnight travel to Canada.

• Year-to-date, 11.5 million travellers have overnighted in Canada, up 1% on the same period in ’09.

• For the first time in many months, the number of arrivals from Mexico went into the black (0.1%) on last year.

• Some markets posted big gains in August. Brazil (39%) and China (38%) grabbed the numerical headlines for growth again.

• Trip numbers from CTC’s key overseas markets were up 10% year-on-year in 2010’s first eight months. However, that growth still represents a 5% decline on ’08.

• Canadians feel a strong urge to hit the road, with outbound travel up 8% compared with Aug. ’09.

• It was as-you-were for Canadian consumer confidence in Aug. ’10. The Index of Consumer Confidence, released by The Conference Board of Canada, barely budged, declining a mere 0.6 points to 79.4.

• However, there were slight signs of positive thinking in the US. The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index got up off the canvas to rise to 53.5, up 2.5 points.  

The Tourism Snapshot examines statistics and travel trends up to August 31, 2010, in CTC’s—and its partners’—key global markets. 

Read the latest Tourism Snapshot in full.