OTTAWA, Ont. — Canada welcomed its second-highest number of visitors in 2016 and its highest amount since 2002, according to new data released by Destination Canada.
And several areas of the country expect this year’s tourism numbers to be even better as travelers bypass the United States and its stricter immigration laws under President Donald Trump.
The 20 million international visitors in 2016 were 10 percent higher than in 2015, with increases across the board in Canada’s top tourism markets.
The number of overseas visitors increased 16 percent to 6.1 million while the number of U.S. visitors increased by 10 percent to 13.9 million.
Outside of the U.S., the next largest source of visitors to Canada was the U.K., with 833,329 tourists, 17 percent more than in 2015.
The next highest sources of visitors to Canada were China (610,139), France (545,786), Germany (369,216), Australia (333,437), Japan (303,726) and South Korea (244,442).
Almost half of all visitors to Canada, or 9.8 million people, arrived via the country’s land crossings with about 9.4 million of those being Americans.
About 566,000 Americans arrived in Canada on boats while the remaining 4.5 million flew.
With concerns about restrictions on travel to the U.S., Vancouver and other Canadian cities are expecting to capture lost U.S. tourism.
Vancouver already had a strong performance last year, pre-Trump, with overnight visits surpassing 10 million people, a new record for the city and the third consecutive record-breaking year.
Among major Canadian cities, Vancouver performed the strongest, with higher hotel occupancy and a higher average daily rate than Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal.
The main source of international tourism was from the U.S., with 2.3 million overnight visitors, a 9.8 percent increase from 2015.
Nova Scotia’s tourism industry also is hot, with a record-breaking 2.2 million people visiting the province last year. The province is calling 2016 the best tourism year in history, with revenue estimated at $2.6 billion.
“The tourism sector is extremely important to Nova Scotia’s economy, employing people in rural and urban communities across our province,” said Mark Furey, minister responsible for Tourism Nova Scotia.
“I applaud the collaboration and hard work of tourism operators and others in the industry for making 2016 a record year.”
