Canada went gathering plenty of travellers in May. The ash cloud from that pesky Icelandic volcano Tourism Snapshot just published by the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC)’s Research department.

Japan, South Korea, Brazil and India led the double-digit growth. But there was less favourable news from the US, with visitor numbers taking a tumble. The Tourism Snapshot examines travel trends and statistics up to May 31 in CTC’s—and its partners’—key global markets.

Here’s some findings from the front line:

• About 1.4 million overnighters visited Canada in May 2010, down 5% on last year.

• Yet it was a good month for CTC overseas key markets: travellers headed to Canada climbed 12%, well up on April’s 1%.

• Year-to-date, trips from these markets have topped 760,000, up 6%.

• Certain markets really caught the Canada travel bug: Japan (45%), South Korea (32%), Brazil (31%) and India (21%) all posted startling increases in visitors.

• Year-to-date, those four markets are looking very positive, with Japan (16%), Brazil (15%), India (14%) and South Korea (11%) all ushering a steady stream of travellers to Canada.

• Still troubled times in the Mexico market; yet the decline in May slowed to 31% over April’s 54%. 

• United States overnight trips to Canada hit the brakes, sinking 9% on May ’09. The main culprit: automobile trips hitting the off ramp, skidding down 13%. Air travel held its own, with plane trips climbing 2%.

• Overall, there’s been a 5% year-on-year decline in overnight trips from the US.

• Yukon (16%), Saskatchewan (11%), Prince Edward Island (4%) and British Columbia (3%) were again the only provinces that saw more American travellers from January to May 2010.

• Despite a depreciating loonie, Canadians can’t get enough of the US: there was another 17% rise in people heading south at the 49^th parallel from April to May.

• The Index of Consumer Confidence, released by The Conference Board of Canada, regained some vigour, climbing 4.5 points to 89.3.

• And there was a third consecutive month of optimism in the US: The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index rose to 63.3.  

Read the latest Tourism Snapshot in full.