Canada ends 2011 on a high

While most countries were happy to see the end of 2011 thanks to the global economic recession, the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) reports the year finished on an upbeat note for Canada – with one million international visitors in December representing a 4% increase over the same month in 2010. However, according to the latest Tourism Snapshot, international visitors for 2011 tumbled 1% to 16 million. Other key facts and figures: !!! Canada’s competitors fared a little better in 2011 up until November: the US had a 5% increase in international visitors, while Australia kept its numbers on an even keel from 2010. !!! Americans enjoyed more Canadian overnighters in December 2011, with a 6% acceleration in auto travel boosting the overall total by 4%. !!! US numbers for 2011 did not paint such a rosy picture: a 2% contraction took the total down to 11.6 million, but air travel and travel by other modes (both 2%) were sectors that showed a rise. !!! The China market closed out the year with another strong month of growth (36%). For 2011, China was the market the other CTC key international markets aspired to match, posting a 25% increase on 2010. !!! More good news from the Japan market, as it notched a second monthly gain (5%) in visitors heading east to Canada. !!! The India market looks bullish, too: December 2011 saw its third consecutive double-digit rise in trips to Canada, this time a healthy 29%. !!! It’s an equally upbeat story in Mexico after a difficult 2010. A 16% climb in visitor numbers during December was its ninth in a row, with 2011 as a whole marking a 10% surge on the previous year. !!! There was light on the horizon at last for the UK market in December 2011, with a 10% year-on-year rise in travel to Canada reversing a troubling trend. !!! The Australians kept their passports under lock and key, however, with a second monthly drop (5%) in cross-Pacific visitors to Canada. !!! Wanderlust was in the Canadian blood in 2011, with locals taking 30 million outbound trips, up 5% on 2010. ([email protected]“>http://[email protected])