Canadians to Travel Closer to Home in 2016
According to a recent survey, Canadians have their sights set on destinations closer to home when it comes to travel in 2016. Despite the slide in the value of the Canadian dollar, results of the survey show that 64 percent of consumers surveyed are planning to travel and another 83 percent wish they could be traveling.
"The decline in the Loonie's value, especially against the American dollar, is most likely why we're seeing so much search interest in domestic destinations1," said Adam Francis, Brand Marketing Director at Expedia Canada. "This is great news for Canadian tourism and for Canadian travellers. For many who have yet to set foot in the Maritimes or others who have always wanted to see the wonders of the west coast, 2016 is a great year to see what our beautiful country has to offer. From the breathtaking sites to the impeccable cuisine, Canada has so much to offer to those planning to travel in 2016."
Based on flight bookings made on Expedia.ca between January and December 2015, Canadians kept their travels close to home. The top destinations Canadians travelled to in 2015 were Toronto, Vancouver, Las Vegas, Calgary and Montreal.
Travel close to home is expected to continue as a trend in 2016, with more Canadians making trips within their very own backyard compared to international destinations. Based on Expedia.ca search data, from July to December 2015, the most frequently searched destinations on Expedia.ca for travel in 2016 (from January to June 2016), in order of popularity were:
• Toronto
• New York
• Vancouver
• Montreal
• Niagara Falls
• Orlando
• Cancun, Mexico
• Banff National Park
• Riviera Maya, Mexico
• Quebec
Almost three-quarters of respondents (74 percent) said the weakened Loonie is impacting their travel plans for 2016. Seventy-three percent said it will affect their choice of destination, with half (51 percent) saying it will change how often they travel this year and 42 percent reporting it is affecting how long their vacation stay will be.
As Canadians are carefully planning their travel, the good news is there are a number of potential savings to look forward to when it comes to travel in 2016.
In partnership with the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC), the Expedia group recently released findings on its second annual global air travel outlook report, Preparing for Takeoff: Air travel outlook for 2016. The data highlighted key trends from a number of credible industry sources and found that 2016 is expected to be a good year for travellers to save money.
"Fare savings in a previous year are often good indicators for the year to come," said Francis. "Expedia's analysis of ARC data found that economy air ticket prices declined roughly 8 percent year-over-year between October 2014 and October 2015, with the biggest drops in July and August 2015."
