One-half of Canadians are planning to take a vacation this summer and expect to spend an average of about $2,500 on their getaway, according to Scotiabank's second annual study on Canadians' travel intentions. The good news for the Canadian tourism industry is that half of travelers (50 per cent) indicated that they will be traveling within our borders.
'Staying closer to home should be good news for Canada's travel & tourism industry which has had to deal with the dampening impact of a strong Canadian dollar on foreign travelers, rising gasoline costs and border issues with our American neighbours,' says Adrienne Warren, Senior Economist, Scotiabank.
The study indicates that many Canadians are choosing to travel domestically. Ontario and Quebec (12 per cent), British Columbia (10 per cent) and Alberta (6 per cent) remain the biggest draws for Canadians. In fact, the study found that travelers in Quebec (38 per cent), B.C. (27 per cent) and Ontario (22 per cent) are most likely to vacation within their home province. For those considering foreign destinations, 13 per cent say they are planning to visit the United States and seven per cent say they are planning a European (including the U.K.) vacation.
According to Warren, job gains in Canada have bolstered household income and are helping support travel spending. Just five months into 2006, the economy has added 220,000 new jobs, which almost matches the average annual gain over the past three years.
'More Canadians are working today than ever before, with the concurrent booms in resource development, construction activity and private and public sector services contributing to the increasing opportunities for employment across the country,' says Warren.
In terms of spending, the study found an increase in the area of entertainment and sight-seeing ($460), up $112 from 2005. The study also indicated a modest increase in spending on transportation ($810), up $74 and meals and beverages ($453), up $41 over last year. Interestingly, the study found that on average travelers are planning to spend $185 less on accommodations ($529) this year.
Decima Research conducted this national omnibus telephone poll (teleVox) on behalf of Scotiabank between April 26th and May 17th, 2006. Overall results are based on a randomly selected sample of 3,026 English and French-speaking Canadian adults aged 18 years and older. A random probability sample of this size delivers results with a statistical margin of error of ±1.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Travel results are based on a randomly selected sample of 1,484 English and French-speaking Canadian adults aged 18 years and older who intend to take a leisure trip between late April and the end of August 2006. A random probability sample of this size delivers results with a statistical margin of error of ±2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The margin of error will be larger within subgroupings of the survey sample. Data have been weighted to reflect a representation of the gender, age and regional distribution in Canada.
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