International Arrivals To Canada Approaching Pre-Pandemic Levels
October 11, 2022 Mario Toneguzzi BusinessNews
International arrivals to Canada—non-resident visitors and returning Canadians—more than tripled in September those arriving in September 2021, approaching but not yet reaching levels recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic, reported Statistics Canada on Tuesday.
"Compared with September 2021, there were three times (729,100) as many non-resident visitors arriving from abroad at Canadian airports equipped with electronic kiosks. US residents took 824,400 trips to Canada through land ports with electronic sensors in September, over 470,000 more than in September 2021," explained the federal agency.
"At the same time, the 1.1 million Canadian residents returning by air from visiting abroad via kiosk-equipped airports was almost three times greater than in September 2021.
"Compared with September 2021, nearly 1.2 million more Canadian residents—for a total of over 1.4 million—returned from trips to the United States through land ports with electronic sensors."
Although air travel is approaching its 2019 pre-pandemic level, employment in the industry has continued to lag, leading to flight cancellations, long security queues, and lost luggage, impacting the largest airports the most. The current labour shortage is being felt across different airport-related occupations, including flight attendants, security screeners, and baggage handlers, said StatsCan.
businessTourismTravel