A recent survey found that 58% of Canadians (or three out of five) said that they are not confident they will be taking a winter vacation this year.
The survey, conducted by Ipsos for
Allianz Global Assistance, also discovered that among the 42% of survey participants who said that they are confident they will be taking a vacation this winter, the average anticipated spend per household will remain relatively flat (at 58%).
“It is an unfortunate reality that more than half of Canadians have a low level of confidence that they will be taking vacation this winter,” said Allianz Global Assistance director of Marketing and Communications Dan Keon. “One concern for Canadians considering travel in winter could be the costs of cancellation, especially when you look at the average cost Canadians say they will spend on a winter vacation: $2,593.20 per household.”
“This is a significant budget for families which can be easily threatened by unexpected circumstances such as inclement weather,” he added. “In those cases, unprotected cancellations could place the entire vacation budget at risk. Travel insurance can typically recover up to 100% of eligible prepaid travel-related expenses lost due to covered reasons for cancellations, such as an unforeseen illness or government advisory restricting travel to your planned destination.”
Although the United States is typically the destination of choice for many winter vacationers, the survey revealed that the current value of the Canadian dollar against the US dollar could prevent a good number of the survey’s participants (56%) from traveling south to the US. The survey also found that in some cases, several Canadians have elected to pass on traveling to the US in the short term.
“While the US remains the top outbound destination for Canadians, the current value of the Canadian dollar against the US dollar is clearly coming into play for potential vacationers,” Keon observed.
“As Canadians, we highly value and look forward to our vacation plans as an opportunity to spend time with loved ones and unwind from our day-to-day stresses,” Keon said. “The survey allowed us to quantify the existing ‘Vacation Confidence Deficit’, but also showed that 36% of Canadians haven’t had a vacation for more than two years. Clearly many Canadians all across the country are in need of a well-deserved break.”
The survey came across other interesting tidbits; it found that 68% of respondents are anticipating taking a vacation within the next 12 months. The survey, however, also revealed that of the 70% of Canadians who identified that an annual vacation is important to them, only 83% are confident they will be travelling in the next 12 months, “creating a vacation confidence deficit of 17%.”
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