Canadians are pulling in the reins on holiday travel.
A new survey by Ipsos on behalf of Simplii Financial finds that two thirds of Canadians (68%) say they are making compromises when it comes to holiday travel.
More than half (56%) said they'd like to travel but it's unaffordable. Almost eighty percent of respondents (79%) said they feel travel has become less affordable over the past five years.
"Canadians are feeling cost pressures in all areas of life and they're asking themselves whether holiday travel fits into their budgets," said Atanaska Novakova, Executive Vice-President, and Head, Simplii Financial. "As a result, many are making trade-offs to manage costs, or are foregoing travel entirely in the near term."
Of those who are planning to travel, the majority are taking shorter trips and staying within Canada. Fifty two per cent of respondents said they’re opting to stay within their home province.
Still, more than one-third of Canadians (37%) say they’ll be travelling to international destinations over the holidays, with the U.S. (42%), and Mexico and the Caribbean (26%) as the most popular vacation spots.
Asked how they plan to reduce travel costs this year, Canadians say they will be choosing cheaper accommodations (23%), and reducing airfare costs by flying off-peak (18%) or using discount airlines (16%).
Some experts say the low Canadian dollar also is causing people to rethink some travel plans.
On the other hand, the world travel outlook remains promising. Bloomberg reports the global airline industry is forecast to rake in USD$36.6 billion in net income in 2025, driven by a record 5.2 billion passengers taking to the skies. That represents a 16% gain on 2024 figures.
