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4 The Winnipeg Barometer Report | Volume 10, 2019 Canada's direct air capacity for domestic and international markets made gains in 2018. Looking to 2019, the grounding of Boeing's 737 Max 8 planes has impacted some of those seat gains in the past year, though primarily on domestic routes. Looking out to the third quarter of 2019, the Conference Board of Canada is forecasting domestic air capacity in 2019 will drop off slight at -0.8 per cent compared to the same period last year, unlike earlier in the year where domestic air capacity was showing growth of almost two per cent. Looking at the U.S., direct air capacity is projected to grow 4.4 per cent in the third quarter 2019, down slightly from 5.4 per cent in the first quarter. Direct air capacity from overseas regions varies by country. Seat gains are forecasted for France, Germany and South Korea. Whereas Mexico, the United Kingdom, Japan, China, Australia and India are all forecast to have fewer non-stop seats to Canada in the third quarter of 2019. The ability to get to a destination is an integral part of planning and taking a trip. Air access is an important measurement of the potential growth of Canada's tourism markets, because travel growth is linked to improved air access. Total tourism spending in Canada during 2019 is expected to grow 5.0 per cent over last year to $81.2 billion; this is due primarily to the international travel market and the expected rise in travel prices. Beyond 2019, growth of visitor spending is projected to average around just under 5.0 per cent from 2020 to 2022. Canada overnight travel outlook (percentage growth over previous year in italics) 2018 2019 2020 Total overnight person-visits 145,955 1.6 148,846 2.0 151,569 1.8 Domestic 121,866 1.6 123,857 1.6 125,742 1.5 United States 15,439 1.2 15,930 3.2 16,336 2.5 Overseas 8,649 1.8 9,058 4.7 9,491 4.8 Total overnight expenditures ($ Millions) 59,032 5.4 62,141 5.3 65,160 4.9 Travel Price Index 4.67 3.07 2.68 Sources: Conference Board of Canada; Statistics Canada