Canada, US Travel Recovery Gains Momentum, but Road Trips Remain 31.1% Below 2024 Levels

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Canadian travellers are slowly finding their way back to the United States, offering fresh hope to tourism businesses on both sides of the border. However, the latest figures from Statistics Canada show that the recovery remains incomplete. Return trips by Canadian residents from the US increased by 6.8% in September 2026 compared with a year earlier, marking six consecutive months of annual growth. Despite this improvement, road and air travel remain well below their September 2024 levels, highlighting the challenge facing the cross-border tourism industry.

Canadian Travel to the United States Shows Fresh Signs of Recovery

Statistics Canada reported 1,889,652 Canadian-resident return trips from the United States by automobile and air in September 2026. The increase suggests that cross-border travel is gradually regaining momentum after a prolonged period of declining demand.

The figures offer encouraging news for American destinations that rely on Canadian visitors for hotel stays, shopping, dining, entertainment and leisure activities. For travellers, the trend indicates that more people are making the journey south again, although the data does not establish why individual travellers have changed their plans.

The latest results were published on 13 October 2026 as part of Statistics Canada’s Leading Indicator of International Arrivals to Canada. The figures are preliminary and measure Canadian residents returning home after trips abroad.

Road Trips Remain the Biggest Challenge for Border Tourism

Automobile travel recorded a 5.6% year-on-year increase in September. However, return trips by road were still 31.1% below the level recorded in September 2024.

This gap is significant for destinations that attract visitors from neighbouring Canadian provinces. Short holidays, weekend breaks, shopping trips and visits to friends and relatives can depend heavily on convenient road connections between the two countries.

A rise in annual traffic is a positive development, but it does not necessarily mean that border communities have regained the visitors they previously welcomed. Hotels, restaurants and attractions that depend on Canadian motorists may therefore need a longer period of improving demand before they can assess whether business has returned to earlier levels.

Air Travel Records a Stronger Annual Increase

Air travel showed a faster year-on-year improvement than automobile travel. Canadian-resident return trips from the United States by air increased by 11.6% in September 2026.

Nevertheless, air travel remained 18.7% below its September 2024 level, according to Statistics Canada.

The difference between the two transport modes offers a useful insight into the recovery. Air travel has recorded a stronger annual increase and remains closer to its earlier benchmark than road travel. However, these figures do not reveal which destinations, airlines or types of holiday are driving the improvement.

For the aviation and hospitality sectors, further information about passenger numbers, flight bookings, hotel occupancy and visitor spending would be needed to establish whether the increase is translating into stronger commercial performance.

Changing Travel Preferences Continue to Shape the Market

The latest recovery follows a difficult period for US-bound Canadian travel. Statistics Canada’s July 2026 analysis found that Canadian-resident return border crossings from the United States declined by 25.4% in 2025 compared with 2024.

The report also identified a broader shift in travel preferences. Canadians made 7.1 million fewer visits to the United States in 2025 than in 2024, while domestic visits increased by five million and visits to overseas destinations rose by 1.3 million.

Europe and Asia attracted growing numbers of Canadian visitors during the period. Visits to Europe increased by 13.6%, while visits to Asia rose by 16.7%.

These figures suggest that the US was not the only destination competing for Canadian holiday spending. Domestic breaks and international alternatives gained ground as travel patterns changed.

However, the data does not establish that every traveller who cancelled a US trip chose another destination. Different travellers may have changed their plans for different reasons.

US Tourism Businesses Still Have Ground to Recover

The financial implications extend beyond the number of border crossings. Statistics Canada reported that Canadian spending on visits to the United States fell by $3.3 billion in 2025, reaching $18.8 billion.

By comparison, spending on overseas visits for holidays, leisure and recreation increased by $3.6 billion to $22.8 billion.

These annual figures illustrate the potential significance of changing Canadian travel preferences for accommodation providers, attractions, restaurants and transport operators. A sustained recovery in US-bound travel could help businesses regain some of the demand lost during the previous year, although the September crossing figures alone cannot confirm a recovery in tourism revenue.

Statistics Canada Warns That the Figures Are Preliminary

The latest numbers should also be interpreted with care. Statistics Canada has advised users to exercise caution when comparing data from September 2026 onwards with earlier periods because information from the NEXUS Highway system is being integrated into its travel indicator.

Complete September figures are scheduled for release on 23 November 2026. The forthcoming data should provide a fuller picture of cross-border travel activity.

Canada–US Tourism Recovery Remains a Work in Progress

For travellers and tourism businesses, the latest figures offer a reason for cautious optimism. More Canadians are returning from US trips than a year ago, and air travel is showing a stronger annual increase than road travel. Yet the distance between today’s figures and the levels recorded in 2024 remains substantial.

The coming months will show whether this improvement develops into a more durable recovery. For now, the message is straightforward: Canadians are travelling to the United States more frequently than they did a year ago, but the cross-border tourism market still has considerable ground to regain.