Canadians Increasingly Excited About Travel, Study Says

Canadians Increasingly Excited About Travel, Study Says

July 15, 2021 ctn_admin

Flight Centre Travel Group says Canadians are increasingly excited about travel, and the vast majority expect to travel as much as they did in 2019.

Among the key findings of the survey is that excitement towards travel is up significantly, confidence in travelling safely is directly correlated to the successful rollout of vaccines, and the vast majority of customers are definitely planning to travel in 2022.

Among the surprising trends the travel agency is noticing is that people are not waiting until the very last minute to book their trips despite frequent changes and varying travel restrictions worldwide. More than one third of travelers are booking three to five months in advance of their departure suggesting that concerns regarding sudden cancellations or changes is no longer a substantial deterrent.

Key Findings:

When asked how people are “feeling” right now about travel, those that are “excited” has seen a 254% increase since November 2020, in which only 13% of people at that time provided that response. Correspondingly, those “worried” about travel saw a reduction from 47% in November to just 14.6% last month.

67.2% of those surveyed said that the progress of Canada’s vaccination program has made them more confident to travel. Given the survey was completed when only 10% to 15% of Canadians were fully vaccinated, consumer confidence is expected to grow as the vaccination program continues progress.

79% of respondents say they will “definitely” or “probably” travel to countries accepting fully vaccinated travellers in the next 12 months.

38% are planning to travel in the next 1-3 months, a sharp increase from the November 2020 survey results in which just 16% of respondents felt the same.

Overall, 85% of customers expect to travel equal or more than they did in 2019 (i.e. pre-COVID)

In terms of which destinations people plan to travel to first internationally, 68% of respondents are planning to go to Mexico and the Caribbean with the Mayan Riviera, Puerto Vallarta, Dominican Republic and Jamaica seeing the most demand within the region. 42% are planning to go to Europe.

From a product standpoint, the return of cruise travel is definitive though not in short-term bookings. Specifically, May to September 2022 encompasses the largest share of future cruise bookings.

Michelle Suggett, VP of Retail Operations for Flight Centre Travel Group (Canada), doesn’t find the results surprising given what the agents on the ground are currently experiencing.

“There has been significant demand in inquiry and bookings as more and more people get vaccinated. That, combined with more than a year and a half of restrictions and border closures, is now translating into bookings as consumer confidence lifts,” Suggett said.