The Conference Board of Canada and Expedia Group say travel and tourism are definitely on the upswing.
In their latest report, the Conference Board found that 86% of Canadians say they miss travelling. Better yet, the numbers who report that COVID-19 is slowing their travel plans is down sharply.
Speaking during a zoom session put on by the Discover America Canada Committee, Jennifer Hendry, the conference board’s Senior Research Associate, said that in October of 2020, 62% of Canadians had no travel plans. In their October, 2021 report, that number was down to 47%.
Hendry says that shows that “the uncertainty is receding.”
“Our most recent Travel Intentions survey found that half of respondents plan to take a leisure trip between November and April. This reflects a smaller share than recorded at the start of the 2019/20 season. But is significantly higher than last winter when just 36% of respondents reported positive travel intentions,” she said in her presentation.
In October of last year, 42% of Canadians said they wouldn’t travel because of COVID-19. In October of this year, the number was down to just 22%.
“It’s not a tidal wave,” Hendry said, “but travel is finally beginning to recover. It’s good news across the board.”
The Conference Board report found that 51% of Canadians plan a trip this winter, with a roughly even split between those planning a domestic holiday and those heading out on an international vacation. That’s about one-half the normal percentage of folks who plan an international trip, but double the numbers from a year ago.
Hendry said some Canadians are choosing destinations based on vaccination rates. The Conference Board found that 83% of Canadians check a destination’s vaccination rates before they book a trip.
Conference Board of Canada.
Raina Williams, Senior Regional Manager, Business Development Canada for Expedia Group, said that when Expedia compares year-over-year numbers, the third quarter of 2021 delivered triple-digit growth compared to 2020. Even in North America, where the Delta variant had one of the strongest impacts, they saw search volumes increase 80% year-over-year.
“This appears to signal that, despite these still uncertain times, people are eager to see the world and travel once again.”
The third quarter study also found that 54% of searches were for international trips and 46% for domestic trips. That’s the second highest international trip percentage in the world, and it marks the first time since the pandemic that Expedia found Canadians looking more for international trips than domestic ones.
“People are eager to see the world and start travelling again,” she said.
Williams also said business travel is definitely starting to recover.
Egencia data shows that business travel demand was up over 40% globally in the third quarter, versus the second quarter of this, and up more than 110% compared to the same period last year, she said.
This is purely observational, but I had a business meeting at the Royal York Hotel for breakfast this week and the restaurant was quite busy.
Another hot topic in the travel biz is sustainability. Raina said nearly three in five travellers (59%) are willing to increase their travel spending to make their trip more sustainable.
The U.S. is still the destination of choice for Canadians, but Williams said the Caribbean and Mexico have gained a little. The top destinations for Canadians are Florida, California, New York, Arizona and Hawaii. Florida and Arizona demand is down a bit, while New York and California are up a little and Hawaii is about the same as usual.
Here are the top domestic and international searches on Expedia for the third quarter of this year.
Domestic: Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, Edmonton, Quebec City, Ottawa, Victoria, Kelowna, Halifax.
International: Cancun, Las Vegas, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood, New York City, Honolulu, Puerto Vallarta, Los Angeles, London, Punta Cana.
