Canadian travel agencies broke sales records in 2023: StatCan

How did the Canadian travel industry do last year? Pretty darn good, if new data from Statistics Canada is any indication.  

According to figures released in October, the travel industry has “bounced back to the pre-pandemic norm,” the government agency wrote in a Oct. 23 report.

StatCan divides travel arrangement and reservation services in three groups: tour operators, travel agencies, and other travel arrangement and reservation services

In 2023, operating revenue of this industry group (as a whole) increased 53.5 per cent, to a record high of $15.2 billion.

Operating revenue in 2023 was up 3.8 per cent from 2019 in pre-pandemic times.  

StatCan says tour operators accounted for the largest share of revenue, at 59.7 per cent or $9.1 billion.

Travel agencies break records

Operating revenue at travel agencies, however, had the strongest recovery of all three industries, exceeding pre-COVID levels by 11.6 per cent in 2023, the agency says.

The operating revenue at travel agencies for that year rose 55.5 per cent year over year to $2.8 billion in 2023, exceeding pre-pandemic levels by 11.6 per cent – the strongest recovery of all three industries, says StatCan.

Agency expenses rose 46.6 per cent year over year to $2.4 billion in 2023. Salaries, wages, commissions and benefits accounted for the largest share (51.3 per cent) of industry expenses, says the agency.

The profit margin for travel agencies reached 14.8 per cent, “the highest profit margin in more than a decade.”

Finally, operating revenue for the “other” category (travel arrangement and reservation services) surpassed pre-pandemic levels by 9.0 per cent, rising 20.8 per cent year over year to $3.3 billion in 2023.

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