Canadian reluctance to venture into the U.S. continued in December, with cross-border travel remaining down sharply, according to new data from Statistics Canada.
The national statistical agency reported that the volume of Canadians returning from the U.S. by car was down by 30.7% in December, compared with the same month a year ago. The number of travellers coming back from the U.S. by air was also down by 18.7%, it noted.
Cross-border travel is now down sharply for 12 straight months, Statistics Canada said.
The number of trips to Canada by U.S. residents was also down in the month, declining by about 9% for both car and plane trips, it reported.
While travel to the U.S. remains down sharply, Canadians are heading overseas in higher numbers.
In December, the number of Canadians returning from trips to countries other than the U.S. was up by 10.4%, offsetting the drop in U.S. travel.
Similarly, visits to Canada by overseas travellers rose by 6.6% in the month, which partly offset the decline in U.S. visitors. Overall visits to Canada were down by 1.1%, as the drop in U.S. travellers outpaced the other foreign visitors.