Canada Vacation Travel Market Report 2026
Canadians are eager to travel, with 79% saying they intend to take at least one overnight trip in 2026.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- What you need to know
- Outlook for vacation travel
- Opportunities
- Events and interest are compelling reasons for travel
- Establish a reputation as a travel authority while breaking the short-form content mould
- New Canadians are a rich customer pool
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THE MARKET
- Inflation continues to pressure Canadian purchasing decisions
- Pessimistic Canadians will be harder to convince to travel
- Graph 1: CSCE indicator, 2022-2025
- Drops in fuel and airfare can strengthen brands’ case for travel
- Graph 2: consumer price index, 2021-25
- Recent laws may make travel more costly, decrease inbound traffic
- Canadian travellers will have to consider their contentious neighbour
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THE CONSUMER
- Vacation intent in 2026
- Economic pressure dampens Canadians’ vacation plans
- Domestic interest is up, but costs are a barrier
- Focus on discovery to keep younger travellers in-country
- Pivot to interests to capitalize on domestic ad saturation
- Graph 3: attitudes toward destination interest – agree, total and by generation, 2025
- Inspiration and planning
- Brands require a varied online presence to effectively reach travellers
- Graph 4: sources of travel inspiration, all travellers and by generation, 2025
- Information is diffused across sources, laying bare the need for authority
- Use blogs and forums to engender trust, project authority
- Become a voice of authority for younger travel planners
- Graph 5: attitudes toward travel planning, total and by generation, 2025
- Domestic travel
- Domestic travel interest implies humble ambitions
- Market along travellers’ interests to maximize efficacy
- Graph 6: attitudes toward travel marketing – agree, total and by generation, 2025
- Serve as guides to attract untapped Gen Z potential
- Graph 7: vacation type plans and interests, Gen Z, 2025
- Tailor messaging to travellers at the provincial level
- Graph 8: vacation type interest, by region, 2025
- Barriers
- Market expertise in travel info along with budgeting tips
- Encourage guarded travellers to travel local
- Value messaging can help convince travellers on the fence about plans
- Graph 9: attitudes toward travel spending – agree, all travellers and by generation, 2025
- Premiumisation
- International flights hold the most appeal for upgrading
- Advocate the premium experience to growing international segment
- Marry loyalty with events to entice premium-minded Gen Z
- Graph 10: likely areas of premiumisation – any rank, all travellers and by generation, 2025
- Address how premiumisation augments/contrasts “normalcy” at home
- Graph 11: likely areas of premiumisation – any rank, by region, 2025
- Appeal to family to get secure travellers on board with upgrades
- Graph 12: willingness to make sacrifices to travel, by generation and by financial situation, 2025
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INNOVATION AND MARKETING
- Focus on events to benefit from SIET travel’s popularity
- Winnipeg appeals to Canadians through Canadian humour
- The world eyes Canadian tourists, forcing brands to step up
- Porter launches Caribbean routes with a youth-focused activation
- Pique New Canadians’ interest to satisfy their curiousity, establish loyalty
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APPENDIX
- The consumer
- Consumer research questions
- Consumer research methodology
- Repertoire analysis methodology
- Generation groups
- Abbreviations
"Economic pressures dim the enthusiasm of Canadian travellers, but precise, authoritative messaging that activates on travellers' underlying motivations can still convince them to travel."
Mike Gallinari, Senior Travel & Leisure Analyst
Canadians are eager to travel, with 79% saying they intend to take at least one overnight trip in 2026. Persistent tensions with the US equate to elevated interest in domestic travel, giving Canadian destinations an opportunity. However, high inflation and a cost of living crisis have caused confidence to plummet, forcing Canadians to reconsider their travel spending. Even those in a healthy financial state are considering fewer trips this year, leaving it up to travel brands to bridge the gap between intent and action.
Fewer trips means the stakes are higher for brands to deliver on the travel experience. This begins at the inspiration and planning stage, where travellers (especially Gen Z and Millennial travellers) feel lost amid a glut of travel information on the social media platforms they’ve come to rely on for inspiration and planning. From there, brand messaging has to move beyond discovery and activate on the myriad reasons a Canadian wants to take a trip.
Fortunately there are a few common angles brands can take. Event travel continues to be a popular trend among travellers, so destinations that can get the word out about interesting happenings in the area and advise on how to make an enriching vacation from there will have success.
This report looks at the following areas:
- The market factors affecting Canadians’ travel outlook for 2026
- The destinations Canadian travellers have in mind
- The most important sources of travel inspiration
- How Canadians are thinking about domestic travel
- Barriers Canadians have to travel
- Areas in which Canadians are interested in upgrading their travel
- How brands (domestic and foreign) are appealing to Canadian travellers
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