No place like home, suggests summer travel survey of Canadians
The majority of Canadiansplan tospend their summer vacations close to home, suggests a survey released Wednesday.
Fifty-one per cent of 3,061 Canadians polled between April 19 and May 7 said they wouldbe travelling within the country, concludes Scotiabank's annual travelsurvey conducted by Decima Research.
Adrienne Warren, a Scotiabank senior economist, saidrising pump prices and new passport requirements may have been key considerations for Canadians' travel intentions.
| Top 4 Canadian destinations |
|---|
| 1. Quebec |
| 2. Ontario |
| 3. British Columbia |
| 4. Alberta |
| Source: Scotiabank summer travel survey |
"With high gas prices and an abundance of prime domestic tourism destinations, many Canadians are again choosing to stay closer to home," Warren said in a release.
Passport offices flooded with applications
New passport requirements introduced in January also may have affected summer travel plans, Warren said. Passport offices have been flooded with applications, leaving Canadianswaiting up to 14 weeks for their documents.
"Uncertainty related to border documentation requirements with our American neighbours may also be a factor slowing southbound traffic," Warren said.
Surprisingly, Canadian travellers seem unmoved by the spending power offered by the soaring loonie,Warren noted.
"The rise in the Canadian-U.S. exchange rate to a 30-year high appears to have had little discernible impact on the summer holiday plans of Canadians," she said.
"Staying closer to home is good news for Canada's travel and tourism industry that depends on domestic travellers for the vast majority of its revenue dollars."
Leading up to the summer holiday period, travel to the U.S. decreased by 0.4 per cent to 3.3 million trips in April, according to Statistics Canada. The Scotiabank survey found16 per cent of respondents planned to take a trip to the U.S. this summer.
| Summer travel budget | |
|---|---|
| Entertainment and sightseeing | $425 |
| Accommodations | $706 |
| Meals and beverages | $401 |
| Source: Scotiabank summer travel survey | |
Within the country, the survey suggests, Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta were Canada's top destination picks.
Meanwhile, Quebecers, at 38 per cent, were the most likely to vacation within their own province, followed by B.C. and Alberta residents at 29 per cent.