CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA - Statistics Canada says the country's
international travel deficit fell to $1.83 billion in the
second quarter of this year from $1.88 billion in the first
quarter.
The agency says the first increase in spending in a year and a half by American travellers in Canada more than offset record spending by Canadians in both the United States and overseas.
The deficit, which is the difference between spending by Canadians abroad and spending by foreigners in Canada, fell by $43 million in the second quarter.
Foreign spending in Canada increased for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2004, climbing 3.1 per cent to $4.0 billion in the second quarter, and second-quarter Canadian spending abroad reached an unprecedented $5.9 billion, up 1.4 per cent from the previous quarter.
Canada's travel deficit with the United States fell $67 million to $1.1 billion during the second quarter, the first decline since the third quarter of 2004.
Americans spent an estimated $2.2 billion in Canada during the second quarter, up 4.0 per cent from the first quarter and the first time since the end of 2004 that spending in Canada by American travellers increased.