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There’s no disguising the fact that the first half of 2009 was a tough time for the tourism industry. But the latest Travel Characteristics report from the Research department of the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) accentuates some positives in terms of visitor spending in Canada.

Here are some key findings from the 2009 Q2 report:

• The average spend per night from the Americas market continued to nudge upwards (1%) in Q2 2009. The average spend in the first six months combined increased 2% to $130 on the same period in 2008.
• However, total trips from the US dwindled by 6% in the first six months of 2009, compared to 2008. And the total average spend per trip fell 3% to $504.
• The average spend per trip from the Asia/Pacific markets climbed back over the parapet, up 1% compared with a 3% fall in Q1. On the downside, total spending by visitors from key CTC international markets dropped 14% in Q2 2009 on the previous year.
• The economic downturn continued to affect other sectors. Business overnight travel to Canada dropped by 12% on the first six months of ’08.
• Brazilians certainly know how to have a good time on their travels: the average spend per night in the first six months of 2009 skyrocketed 52% on the previous year to $112.
• Visitors from France (8%), China (5%) and Australia (5%) also got the tills ringing while on the road in Canada compared with the same period.
• Mexican visitors were a contrasting study: although their average length of stay fell 40% to 14 nights in Q1 and Q2 2009, the average spend per night rose 17% to $75.
• Saskatchewan saw a substantial boost in spending by US visitors in the first half 2009, up 42% on 2008 to $678 per trip.
• The news wasn’t so good for Newfoundland and Labrador. Average spend per night by US visitors fell 35% year on year to $103.

 Travel Characteristics is a new quarterly report from CTC’s Research department that specifically targets revenue from CTC’s key international markets: what visitors spend per trip, per night and what they’re spending their money on. The reports break down the figures into accommodation, food, trip purpose and activities.

There’s also an analysis of key US states—New York, Massachusetts, California, Illinois and New Jersey—and a comparative study across all Canadian provinces and territories. The commission creates its Travel Characteristics reports mainly using data from Statistics Canada’s International Travel Survey.

Read the Travel Characteristics Q2 2009 report in full.