For the first time since 2001, tourism spending in Canada has fallen for the third consecutive quarter, dropping by 1.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2009, according to a report released by Statistics Canada.
This number includes spending by Canadians as well as international visitors, whose 5.7 per cent spending drop in the first quarter of 2009 represents the steepest decline since the 2003 SARS outbreak.
This is the fourteenth such decline in 17 quarters.
International tourists spent eight per cent less on transportation expenditures in Canada this quarter, while their vehicle fuel consumption fell by 10.3 per cent. Spending on food and beverages also dropped by eight per cent.
During the aftermath of the events of September 11, 2001, tourism spending fell a cumulative 5.3 per cent, while the SARS outbreak led to a 5.8 per cent drop. The current downturn has seen a cumulative drop of 2.4 per cent.
Canadians ' tourism spending in Canada slipped 0.1 per cent in the same period.
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