While COVID-19 hit the travel industry in an unprecedented manner, Canadians are excited to travel in 2024 and the industry has clearly rebounded. Though finances are tight, that does not mean consumers are cutting out travel. From seeking less expensive accommodations (35%) to seeking out less expensive activities (29%), Canadians are willing to compromise if that means they can still prioritize vacation. While travel within the nation leads (58%), it should be recognized that international locations are distinctly popular with newer Canadians (ie those who’ve lived in Canada for under five years).
Though family travel remains the most common type of planned vacation, younger consumers show a leaning towards adventure and solo trips. But, women still feel distinctly less safe travelling alone or in groups with strangers than their male counterparts. It is essential to prioritize security and safety during travel. But, not just security and safety of individuals; also of travellers’ belongings and wallets. Airlines need to prioritize baggage handling protocols whilst telecom brands must help make roaming and data less of a scary topic for Canadians.
This report looks at the following areas:
- Consumer travel preferences among Canadians for 2024
- Financial considerations impacting travel plans
- Booking behaviours and trends in travel planning
- Influence of technology and social media on travel choices
- Sustainability and safety concerns in travel
- Economic and financial landscape affecting travel
- Challenges and adaptations within the travel industry
Canadians are embracing domestic getaways and prioritizing local experiences over international travel, reflecting a wave of adventure and appreciation for home.
Candace Baldassarre, Research Analyst
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Executive summary
- What you need to know
- What consumers want and why
- Market predictions
- Opportunities
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Consumer Insights
- Consumer fast facts
- In their own words: Canadians’ favourite vacations
- Different strokes for different folks
- Seaside getaway
- Fitting in with the locals
- Home is where the heart is
- Escaping the winter
- Family reunion
- Historic and contemporary sites alike delight
- Adventure of a lifetime
- Canada dazzles (despite fears of flying)
- Planned travel locations
- Canadians are going places!
- Europe leads by a mile…or kilometer
- Graph 1: planning to take an international trip with at least one overnight stay in the next 12 months, 2024
- Business travel bounces back, but leisure takes the lead
- Graph 2: planning to take any trips with at least one overnight stay in the next 12 months, business vs leisure, 2024
- Plain and simple: more money means more travel
- Graph 3: planning to take any trips with at least one overnight stay in the next 12 months, by household income, 2024
- New to Canada but certainly not new to travel
- Graph 4: planning to take any trips with at least one overnight stay in the next 12 months, newer Canadians vs overall, 2024
- Graph 5: planning to take a trip to Asia and/or Africa with at least one overnight stay in the next 12 months, newer Canadians vs overall, 2024
- Multicultural Canadians are heading internationally
- Graph 6: planning to take any trips with at least one overnight stay in the next 12 months, by race, 2024
- Language deeply connects to travel locales
- Graph 7: planning to take any trips with at least one overnight stay in the next 12 months, by language spoken at home, 2024
- Dads are optimistic travellers
- Graph 8: planning to take any trips with at least one overnight stay in the next 12 months, moms vs dads, 2024
- Different regions are going different places
- Graph 9: planning to take any trips with at least one overnight stay in the next 12 months, by region, 2024
- Planned travel companions
- Family comes first
- Oh, to be young again!
- Graph 10: planned travel companions over next 12 months, by age, 2024
- Younger men are keen solo travellers
- Canadian newcomers are on board with travelling on their own
- Moms and dads intensify gendered patterns
- LGBTQ+ Canadians are excited to spend time away with friends
- Type of trip planned
- Family and friends take the cake
- Graph 11: planned types of trips in next 12 months, 2024
- Perceptions of cruises are shifting among younger Canadians
- Graph 12: planning on taking cruise in next 12 months, by age, 2023 vs 2024
- Your girls’ weekend has never been this good
- Confidence in electric-powered road trips is lacking
- Canadians are wary of EV technology…
- …the costs associated with it…
- …and the infrastructure required to support it
- Women’s and men’s plans are different
- Graph 13: planned types of trips in next 12 months (select), by gender, 2024
- Paying attention to multicultural differences is essential
- Graph 14: planned types of trips in next 12 months (select), by race, 2024
- Inclusive languages in cities and on cruises is essential
- Graph 15: planned types of trips in next 12 months (select), by language spoken, 2024
- High income households splurge on beach and city trips
- Graph 16: planned types of trips in next 12 months (select), by household income, 2024
- Experiencing the Riviera with The Globe’s most celebrated journalists
- Consumers out east are especially open to road trips
- Graph 17: planning on taking road trip in next 12 months, by region, 2024
- LGBTQ+ travellers are looking for adventure
- Activities, amenities and booking windows
- What and when people are typically booking
- Graph 18: how far in advance consumers typically book aspects of their vacation, 2024
- Spontaneity! Last minute bookings!
- Graph 19: aspects of travel consumers book within three months of their trip, 2024
- Why not just book that trip?
- Men may not wear the pants, but they do the booking
- Newcomers are avidly booking
- Graph 20: aspects of travel consumers booked, newer Canadians vs overall, 2024
- Some consumers just like to be self-sufficient
- Is there really a difference?
- Don’t just do it for the ‘gram
- Sacrifices and trade-offs
- Consumers are willing to make trade-offs
- Graph 21: sacrifices or trade-offs most willing to make to save money when planning travel, 2024
- Women are open to trade-offs, but not travel-day hassles
- Graph 22: sacrifices or trade-offs most willing to make to save money when planning travel (select), by gender, 2024
- As travellers age, their priorities change
- Graph 23: sacrifices or trade-offs most willing to make to save money when planning travel (select), by age, 2024
- Graph 24: willing to take less direct routes to save money when planning travel, by age, 2024
- Newer Canadians are open to less expensive transportation
- A third of Canadians embrace spontaneity
- Exchange rates are nothing to laugh about
- Travelling, tech and social media
- Apps and smartphones…a necessary evil?
- United’s app is a clear win with consumers
- Social media inspires culinary adventures
- Younger women excitedly look to social media for ideas for eats
- Graph 25: “I look to social media for ideas of where to eat while travelling” (% agree), by age and gender, 2024
- Roaming isn’t consumers’ friend
- Travel preferences
- A third will splurge
- Not all vacations look the same
- A quarter prefer the road not taken
- Nearly half would be open to travelling in a group with strangers
- Intrepid focuses on experiencing, not just seeing the world
- Men are more open to getting to know people
- Graph 26: “I would be open to travelling in a group with strangers” (% agree), by age and gender, 2024
- The future of travel is sustainable
- Hesitations and concerns around travel
- Concerns around travel abound
- Women show clear concern around travelling alone
- Graph 27: travelling alone isn’t safe (% agree), by gender, 2024
- Now you’re speaking my language
- Graph 28: “I am nervous about travelling to places where I don’t speak the language” (% agree), by age, 2024
- Graph 29: “I am nervous about travelling to places where I don’t speak the language” (% agree), by age and gender, 2024
- LGBTQ+ travellers feel anxiety around the 2024 global political climate
- Consumers are wary of airlines’ baggage handling capabilities
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Competitive strategies
- Launch activity and innovation
- InterContinental and Timeshifter make jet lag manageable
- TreadRight wants to #maketravelmatter
- Luxury motorcoaches make Southern Ontarians’ travel easier with Air Canada
- Fora’s travel advisors challenge OTA model
- Luring luxury travellers to Canada for Pickleball and cold plunges
- Meta takes VR to the skies
- Airalo helps travellers avoid roaming fees
- Expedia expands rewards opportunities
- Kayak is transforming the booking process with AI
- Marketing and advertising
- JetBlue offers more instead of less
- Skyscanner entices Canadians to gig-trip
- Expedia highlights the platform’s ease of use
- Niagara Falls capitalizes on Canadians’ love of spontaneity
- The world’s longest trail is closer than you think
- Air Canada Vacations engages travellers with a social-first strategy
- Montréal encourages visitors to play a little
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The Market
- Market drivers
- A light at the end of the economic tunnel?
- Contributing to savings and paying down debt trumps vacation
- Diversity is defining
- Graph 30: distribution of foreign-born population, by region of birth, 1871 to 2036
- Wildfires do not discriminate with the travel industry
- Strides toward less lost luggage
- Cybersecurity breach wreaks havoc on the travel industry
- Murky dealings with passenger complaints
- The enthusiasm around gig-tripping is clear
- Travel returns to (almost) pre-COVID levels
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Appendix
- Consumer research methodology
- Consumer qualitative research
- Consumer research questions
- Abbreviations and terms
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