The number of Americans making same-day car trips to Canada fell to a record low in 2006, recovering only toward the end of the year as the dollar weakened, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday.

The federal agency says levels dropped by 12.5 per cent to 13.7 million, the lowest point since Statistics Canada began record-keeping in 1972. By comparison, same-day car travel into the country reached a peak of 27.3 million trips in 1999.

U.S. residents made 1.1 million same-day car trips and 1.2 million overnight trips to Canada in December.
(CBC)

However, travel to Canada in December jumped to a five-month high over the rest of the year with more overseas tourists visiting and an increase in same-day and overnight travellers journeying from the U.S.

About 389,000 tourists visited Canada from overseas in December, the highest monthly level in more than two years. U.S. residents made 1.1 million same-day car trips and 1.2 million overnight trips to Canada in December.

As the dollar lost strength in the last three months of the year, more and more tourists crossed into Canada.

"The Canadian dollar fell for the third consecutive month in December, slipping 1.5 per cent to 86.7 US cents," the federal agency noted. "It also declined compared to other major international currencies, such as the British pound sterling, the euro and the Japanese yen."

Meanwhile overseas travel by Canadians also reached record levels in December, up two per cent to 597,000 trips.

For all of 2006, Canadians made a record 6.7 million trips overseas, an increase of eight per cent over 2005 figures.