Tourism Facts

International Tourism

The World Tourism Organization measures international tourism in terms of International Tourism Arrivals and Tourism Receipts.

  • Worldwide figures showed the volume of international tourist arrivals increased to 763 million in 2004, a 10.6% increase over the 690 million reported in 2003.

  • International tourism receipts for 2004 were recorded at US$623 billion, a 18.8% increase over the US$524 billion recorded in 2003.

    Source: World Tourism Organization*

Tourism in Canada

The importance of the tourism industry to the Canadian economy is illustrated by its large revenue base and by the number of jobs it provides to the country's residents.

  • Tourism spending in Canada reached $55.8 billion in 2004, which is a 7.1% increase over revenues reported in 2003.

  • In 2004, the Canadian tourism industry directly employed more than half a million Canadians.

  • The industry supports close to 160,000 tourism related businesses, with 99.6% being small and medium sized enterprises.

    Source: Canadian Tourism Commission - Annual Report 2004*

Tourism in Alberta

Tourism continues to be a strong pillar of the Alberta economy.

  • Total tourism revenue in 2004 was $4.96 billion an increase of 14% over 2003.

  • Of the $4.96 billion, Alberta residents account for $2.33 billion or 47%. Residents of other Canadian provinces account for $1.15 billion, while international visitors spent $1.48 billion in Alberta.

  • Tourism supports just over 83,000 jobs in Alberta, about half directly in the industry and half indirectly.

The overall goal of Alberta Tourism, Parks, Recreation & Culture's Strategic Tourism Marketing Plan (2006-2009) is to increase total tourism revenue to $6.18 billion by 2008.

Source: Statistics Canada - International Travel Survey and Canadian Travel Survey

Sources*

  • World Tourism Organization

    The World Tourism Organization provides comprehensive information on international tourism worldwide through the "Facts and Figures" section of their website. Follow this link for more comprehensive statistics related to international tourism.

  • Canadian Tourism Commission [CTC]

    The Canadian Tourism Commission exists to increase the awareness of and interest in Canada as a premiere four-season tourism destination. They provide a variety of statistics and figures related to Canadian travel. For more information on tourism in Canada visit the link above.