Canadians seemed content to stay at home in the early part of 2019, according to new figures from Statistics Canada.

Data released by the agency on Tuesday shows that Canadian travel within the country, to the U.S. and overseas all declined in the first quarter of the year.

According to the data, Canadians took approximately 54.2 million trips between January and March without crossing the border, as well as six million to the U.S. and 3.3 million to other destinations.

The within-Canada number represents a 3.7 per cent decline from the first quarter of 2018. The U.S. and overseas figures were down three per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively.

The data released by StatCan comes from the National Travel Survey, an online questionnaire administered to a sample of volunteers. It does not include information from people living on reserves or in the territories. To be included in the survey, domestic trips must be at least 40 kilometres one-way and must not be for commuting or other routine reasons.

StatCan notes that much of the country experienced heavy snowstorms and significant cold weather in January and February. This may have made Canadians more interested in snuggling up at home than in venturing outside.

The slightly decreased value of the Canadian dollar may have contributed to the decline in travel to other parts of the world. Mexico was the most common non-U.S. destination for Canadian travellers with 830,000 visits, followed by Cuba (410,000), the Dominican Republic (295,000) and China (240,000).

About 57 per cent of all trips outside Canada were reported as being for pleasure. For trips within Canada, visiting friends and relatives was the most commonly cited purpose at 43 per cent, followed by pleasure at 28 per cent.

There were slight increases in the number of trips Canadians took within the country in some less-common categories, including business trips, shopping excursions and conference, convention or trade show attendance.

Despite the drop in number of trips taken, overall Canadian travel spending rose slightly in the quarter.