Economic predictions for the year ahead may be dire to say the least, but Canadians are not letting that stop them from planning their 2009 vacation.
According to a recent survey, 69 percent of Canadians say they are planning to take a vacation within the next year. Forty nine percent say they plan to travel outside of Canada, while 33 percent are considering taking a cruise.
"We’ve known that Canadians really value their vacation time—they always have. In past economic downturns they’ve still found a way to have their vacation. It was certainly encouraging to see that the number was as strong as it was," says Stuart MacDonald, president and CEO of Tripharbour.ca , an online travel site based in Toronto.
The survey, which was conducted by Ipsos Reid and Tripharbour.ca , found that 56 per cent of British Columbians are most likely to take a vacation abroad in the next year, followed by those in Alberta (54 percent), Ontario (51 percent), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (49 per cent), Quebec (43 percent) and 42 percent in Atlantic Canada.
"Lots of people are heading to warmer climes such as Mexico, the Caribbean, Hawaii, Florida—the typical places for people to get away from the cold or the wet. We are actually seeing a lot of demand for cruises to those destinations as well," MacDonald says.
While two in 10 Canadians have taken a cruise vacation in the past, a full one third (33 percent) of respondents said they would consider taking a cruise for their next vacation.
MacDonald says many people get a kick out of the mere process of booking their cruise, especially in the middle of winter.
"What we find is that a lot of people enjoy that whole process of planning their cruises as if that is part of the vacation. As you are sitting there looking at the different itineraries, it is a bit of a break to get you away even if you’re not going anywhere."
However, those who want to book a cruise departing in the next month or so might be out of luck, as the cruise lines have been offering such good deals of late that cruises are selling out. Fuel surcharges have also been reduced or eliminated.
"From a traveler’s perspective you’ve got two benefits—you’ve got the cruise lines that have reduced their fares significantly to attract business and then the reduction or elimination of fuel surcharges. We are seeing prices that are probably 15 to 20 percent lower than they were this time last year. I think 2009 will be remembered as the 'year of the deal' in the cruise business."
MacDonald adds that this is "a very positive thing as far as the economy is concerned." As for tourists coming into Canada, according to Statistics Canada the number of travelers from the U.S. as well as overseas countries was down in the third quarter of 2008.
Tripharbour.ca decided it was important to conduct the survey "given everything that is going on from an economic perspective and with all the gloom and doom that’s out there," he says.
MacDonald, who has been involved in the travel business since the mid-1990s, says he expects the low Canadian dollar against the U.S. currency will result in more Americans looking to Canada for their next vacation. However, new passport rules may put a damper on that.
"I think that the fact that the Canadian dollar has weakened against the US currency will make it more attractive for Americans to come. But with the changes in passport requirements coming in this summer and the fact that the Canadian dollar is quite a bit strong versus, for instance, the British pound, I’d say that everything is a bit up in the air."