Canadians travelling in other countries outspent foreigners coming to this country by a record amount in 2008, according to new statistics released Thursday.

Statistics Canada said Canada's international travel balance — the difference between what its citizens spent abroad versus what foreigners spent in Canada — produced in 2008 the largest deficit ever: $12.6 billion, a 26 per cent increase over 2007.

Canada's wandering classes spent a total of $28.9 billion on trips abroad last year, $7.2 billion in the final three months.

By contrast, foreigners doled out $16.2 billion while in this country in 2008, $4 billion in the October-to-December period.

The country's travel balance is usually in the red. In 2002 the deficit was $1.7 billion.

Canadians still travelling

Interestingly, as the global economic recession deepened, the national travel deficit rose, not because fewer foreigners were coming to this country, but because Canadians were spending more outside country, Statistics Canada said.

"While inbound travel spending has remained fairly stable over the last five years, hovering around $17 billion annually, outbound spending has increased significantly," said the country's national statistical agency in a press release.

Indeed, last year, Canadians spent eight per cent more, or $2.2 billion, on foreign trips than in 2007 while non-Canadian travellers cut their spending in this country by $400 million.

As well, in the final three months of the year, a time when one might expect consumers to be reigning in their travel spending, Canadians spent approximately the same amount versus the July-to-September period of 2008, $4.09 billion to $4.04 billion.

Falling dollar no deterrent

In this case, Canada's rising travel deficit flew in the face of a deteriorating domestic currency.

At the beginning of 2008, the Canadian dollar was worth $1.01 US. By Dec. 30, however, the loonie's value had slumped significantly, to 82 cents.

In normal times, the tumbling dollar would make foreign travel to this country more attractive while keeping Canadians from heading outside the national borders.

The 2008 figures contradicted that prediction.