U.S. Visits To Canada Set Record

U.S. residents made a record 14.89 million trips to Canada in 1998, fueled by strong economic growth at home and a relatively weak Canadian dollar, Statistics Canada said.

The jump in the number of trips by U.S. residents surpassed the previous benchmark of 17.57 million trips set in 1981. The Canadian dollar averaged 67.5 U.S. cents in 1998, down from 72.20 U.S. cents in 1997.

“For the first time in over a decade, the number of U.S. tourists visiting Canada outnumbered Canadian tourists visiting the U.S.,” said John Olsthoorn, spokesman for the Canadian Tourism Commission.