People around the world are feeling overwhelmingly more optimistic about travelling in 2023 compared to 2022 and, despite some current instability felt globally, nearly three quarters (64%) of Canadians report that travelling will always be worth it. The mood is shifting from one of hopeful uncertainty to bold adaptability, as world travellers and Canadians look to go off-grid, challenge themselves with new experiences out of their comfort zone, and splurge on great trips to help make up for time lost to the pandemic. To understand how travel will be reimagined in 2023, Booking.com commissioned extensive research with more than 24,000 Read more
travel trends
A top union official is warning that there could be “significant delays” at Canada border points if travel picks up dramatically in the wake of travel restrictions being eased. Mark Weber, national president of the Customs and Immigration Union, said border agents are already slammed, and that a signiicant increase in travel will make things worse. The Canadian government announced on Monday that travel restrictions will be lifted on Saturday, October 1. That means an end to mandatory vaccinations for coming into Canada, no quarantine for sick visitors and no random testing. The controversial ArriveCAN app also will become optional Read more
The travel rebound is surging to levels even experts didn’t expect. Global luxury travel network Virtuoso gathered data and insights from its network of travel advisors, preferred partners and high net worth/ultra-high net worth clientele based on its data warehouse of more than $49.5 billion in transactions and an ongoing series of surveys. The company found that, despite the challenges, travel sales in 2023 are pacing 47 percent higher than 2019. Virtuoso also reports strong interest in summer visits to the United States, Italy, France, Canada, and Greece. The results of the Virtuoso report were shared at luxury travel’s leading Read more
American travelers are being scared by gas prices this summer, while Canadians seem to be avoiding international travel. According to the latest Longwoods International survey, 44% of American travelers say they’re reducing the number of trips they’re taking because of record-high prices at the pump, up from 36% in May. A similar percentage are also shifting to destinations closer to home as another way to cope with high gas prices. Only 12% of those surveyed said rising gas prices are not impacting their travel plans. “Fuel costs continue to be a drag on the travel industry recovery,” said Amir Eylon, Read more
More than two years on, widespread COVID-19 concern appears to be declining as international travel resumes, amid easing travel restrictions and rising vaccination rates. According to a live poll conducted by GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, 57% of respondents are “not concerned” or are “not very concerned” about the spread of COVID-19, suggesting that tourists are more prepared to live with COVID-19. GlobalData polling in April, 2020 found more than 70% of respondents were “very concerned” about COVID-19. That was down to just 20.4% in the latest survey, “The outlook for tourism in many countries is brighter than Read more
