International tourism in Canada has a considerable impact on the Canadian economy. It stimulates economic growth and prosperity in all provinces. The growing contribution of tourism has been accompanied by an increased interest in understanding major factors which influence international tourists coming to Canada. This study describes the development and findings of a set of models used to identify variables influencing international tourist flows to Canada. Those variables include: disposable income, per capita gross national product, per capita gross domestic product, exchange rate, travel price index, tourist cost of living, immigration rate, crime rate, marketing expenditure, and dummy variables. The demand for travel was measured both by the number of tourist arrivals and total tourist expenditures. Annual time-series data for the years 1975 to 1990 were obtained from secondary sources. Analysis was conducted by multiple regression analysis. While results are sometimes sensitive to the inclusion of independent variables and are different from one country to another, personal disposable income, gross national product, gross domestic product, travel price index, tourist cost of living, exchange rate, immigration, and marketing expenditure seem to have significant effects on tourist arrivals and expenditures. Some important implications of the findings of the study are discussed.
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