17 December 2009

Re-imposing of Canadian Visa causes Mexican tourist numbers to plummet

Since the re-imposing of the requirement for Mexican nationals to have a Canadian Visa to enter Canada the number of Mexican visitors has plummeted by 63.3 per cent, Statistics Canada reported.

Most of the October-to-October drop came after Ottawa imposed the Canadian visa requirement for Mexican visitors in July, which the Canadian Government says was required to prevent the high numbers of bogus refugee applications from this country as well as the Czech Republic.

Now, Mexicans must apply for a Temporary Residents Visa to enter or transit through Canada.

Another report, released earlier, found Canadian tourism in Mexico also dropped and this was due in part to the cancellation of some Canadian flights to Mexico following the H1N1 outbreak.

Other Canadian immigration and travel statistics include:

• Overall inbound travel decreased 1.7 per cent between September and October to two million trips;
• Travel by US residents to Canada fell 2.6 per cent between September and October to 1.6 million trips;
• The number of overnight trips by travellers from countries other than the United States to Canada increased 3.2 per cent to 332,000 in October; AND
• Travel by Canadians abroad edged down 0.1 per cent to four million trips.

 

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The Canadian Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people with their Canadian  immigration applications to the Canadian Embassy.