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$5 Million

Total Expenditure in Alberta (2021)

557 Thousand

Potential visitors to Alberta (respondents who indicated they are definitely or very likely to visit Canada in the next two years)

Overview

In the first half of 2023, more people from Japan travelled to Alberta. By June, it seems that there were about 45% as many travellers as there were in 2019. This is a big increase from the 3% in 2021. Now that travel restrictions have mostly lifted in Japan, along with locations along the way to Alberta, people going on trips will continue to increase throughout 2023. Experts from Oxford Economics think that by the end of 2023, the number of people traveling out of Japan will continue to be about 45% of what it was in 2019, returning to peak levels by 2026.

On this page:

Competitor Comparison
Air Travel
Economic Indicators
Traveller Characteristics

Couple bike riding along a pathway with mountains in the background

Competitor Comparison

Indicator Quebec Ontario Alberta BC Canada
Expenditure (2021) $3.3 Million $15.3 Million $5 Million $35 Million $62 Million
Share of total national expenditure (2021) 5% 25% 8% 56% -
Visitation (2019) 21 Thousand 91 Thousand 42 Thousand 119 Thousand 311 Thousand
Share of total national visitation (2019) 7% 29% 14% 38% -
Expenditure (2019) $22 Million $138 Million $56 Million $215 Million $499 Million
Share of total national expenditure (2019) 4% 28% 11% 43% -
Average spend (2019) $1,051 $1,518 $1,345 $1,809 $1,607

*Visitation and average spend estimates are not available for Japan for the 2021 calendar year. 

Air Travel

Economic Indicators

Indicator 2020 2021 2022
GDP - per capita $39,775 $39,119 $33,036
GDP - YoY Growth Rate -1.7% -2% -15.9%
Exchange Rate (CAD/YEN) (annual average) $0.013 $0.011 $0.010
Unemployment Rate (annual average) 2.8% 2.8% 2.6%
Inflation Rate (annual average) 0% -0.2% 2.5%

Traveller Characteristics

Accommodation Booking Channel
Online through a travel agent/tour operator 51%
Through an online booking engine 42%
In-person through travel agent/tour operator 34%
Directly through lodging/accommodation establishment 19%
Through accommodation sharing services website 13%

Length of Stay
1 night 0%
2-3 nights 10%
4-6 nights 59%
7-13 nights 26%
14+ nights 6%

Seasonality (2019)

Purpose of Visit (2019)

Top Barriers to Travel
Cost 23%
Too far/flight too long 17%
Health risks 14%
There are other places I would rather visit 14%
There is no reason to visit anytime soon 14%
Safety concerns 12%
Top 5 Trip Anchors
Hiking or walking in the nature 46%
Natural attractions like mountains or waterfalls 44%
Historical sites 43%
Food and drinks 41%
Northern lights 38%

Sources 

Competition comparison: Statistics Canada (VTS, 2019)

Seasonality and purpose of visit: Statistics Canada (VTS, 2019)

Air passengers: DIIO/Cirium (Monthly)

Economic indicators: Oxford Economics (Bi-weekly)

Traveller characteristics: Global Tourism Watch (GTW, 2021)