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$1.6 Billion

Total expenditure in Alberta (2023)

161 Million

Passport holders (2023)

16.4 Million

Potential market size (2023)

3 days

Average length of stay in Alberta (2023)

Overview

Outbound travel from the United States continued to grow this year, estimated at 111% of 2019 levels. Outbound travel fully recovered to 2019 levels in 2023. This is supported by strong consumer spending which has been driving robust GDP growth in post-pandemic years. With inflation slowing in recent months, the U.S. Federal Reserve started cutting interest rates in September 2023. This is likely to stimulate consumer spending and therefore, outbound travel even further.

On this page:

Competitor Comparison
Air Travel
Economic Indicators
Traveller Characteristics

Guided hike at Castle Falls in Castle Provincial Park with Uplift Adventures.

Competitor Comparison

2023

Indicator

Quebec

Ontario

Alberta

BC

Canada

Visitation

3 Million

10 Million

1.4 Million

6.3 Million

-

Expenditure

$2.1 Billion

$4.5 Billion

$1.6 Billion

$4.5 Billion

$12.8 Billion

Share of total national expenditure

16%

35%

12%

27%

-

Average spend

$861

$658

$1,356

$953

-

Pre-pandemic (2019)

Indicator

Quebec

Ontario

Alberta

BC

Canada

Visitation

3.2 Million

12.9 Million

1.3 Million

6.4 Million

26.9 Million

Share of total national visitation

12%

48%

5%

24%

-

Expenditure

$1.9 Billion

$4.2 Billion

$995 Million

$3.1 Billion

$11.4 Billion

Share of total national expenditure

17%

37%

9%

27%

-

Average spend

$587

$323

$828

$474

$422

Air Travel

Economic Indicators

Indicator

2023

2024 Estimate

2025 Forecast

GDP - per capita (US$)

$81,744

$85,569

$88,734

GDP - YoY Growth Rate

2.9%

2.8%

2.6%

Exchange Rate (CAD/USD) (annual average)

$1.35

N/A

N/A

Unemployment Rate (annual average)

3.6%

4.1%

4.3%

Inflation Rate (annual average)

4.1%

2.9%

2.5%

Traveller Characteristics

Breakdown of traveller spending

Top barriers to travel

Travel is too expensive

37%

Personal finance reasons

34%

Gasoline was too expensive

28%

Airfare was too expensive

25%

I'm too busy at work

20%

Not enough PTO/vacation time

14%

Top 5 trip anchors

Northern lights

33%

Natural attractions like mountains or waterfalls

32%

Nature parks

25%

Hiking or walking in nature

23%

Viewing wildlife or marine life

23%

Preferred marketing channel

Email

35%

Websites found via a search engine

34%

Facebook

30%

Online content (articles and blogs)

24%

Instagram

20%

Streaming video services (YouTube, Hulu, etc.)

16%

Purpose of visit