2016 has been a year of turmoil for Canadian travel. From our declining Canadian dollar, fears over terrorism and general uneasiness with the results of the US election, we’re choosing to spend our travel dollars and travel time in non-traditional ways, venturing out to new and unique places.
According to Expedia.ca, if upwards trends from 2016 continue into next year, the following cities will continue to rise in popularity with Canadians. These cities had the highest percentage increase over the past year.
- Reykjavik, Iceland
- Casablanca, Morocco
- Cebu, Philippines
- Nairobi, Kenya
- Tokyo, Japan
- Porto, Portugal
- Belgrade, Serbia
- Naples, Italy
Of note, US destinations are still top of mind for Canadians, but the numbers are decreasing and are expected to continue to do so, resulting in an increase of domestic (within Canada) travel, and overseas travel. (Based on Conference Board of Canada Winter 2016-2017 Travel Intentions Survey).
The top US states for leisure trip intentions are, in order, Florida, California, New York, Nevada, Hawaii, and Arizona, making up a full 72.7% of all intended US travel by Canadians.
According to the Family Travel Association’s new study (October 2016), family travel will continue to become more popular, having increased 5% in the past year. Why is family travel gaining in popularity? According to the survey there are four main factors driving the growth:
- Parental/consumer desire to spend quality time traveling as family 71.2%
- Parental desire to expose children to new destinations and cultures 54.4%
- Expanding range of family travel products being offered by industry 38.4%
- Grandparents’ desire to create multigenerational family bonding and memories 36%
It should be noted that most of “family travel” is made up of children aged 11-14 at 43.9%, followed by ages 7-10 at 36.5%, and only 10% include teens above 14, and less than 10% for kids six and under. Millennial parents have been shown to be more hesitant to take their young kids on holidays with them, believing it would provide them with a less enjoyable travel experience than having traveled on their own. Multigenerational travel is a key segment with grandparents, largely the Boomer demographic, having the means and health to enjoy travel with their children and grandchildren. Resort booking agencies such as Vacatia.com are becoming a popular way to book resort homes that can accommodate larger groups.
While Destination Wedding continue to be popular, other “Destination Celebrations” are also on the rise, including the “Destination Bar Mitzvah”, or “Destination Milestone Birthday or Anniversary” celebration.
Booking travel online is still as popular as ever; consider a last minute holiday travel gift for a family member, or gift them with an online travel book on their Kobo to get their 2017 travel planning well underway.
Kathy Buckworth on 2017 Travel Trends | What She Said :
About Kathy Buckworth
Author, 
I Am So The Boss Of You (Random House)
Chief Family Advisor, PCFinancial & PCPlus
Columnist, “Parent Hacks” Post City Magazines
Travel Feature Writer, Metro News
TV Columnist, “Get Set, Go!” CHCH Morning Live
Radio Columnist, “How She Travels” on What She Said Talk Radio
www.kathybuckworth.com | Twitter @KathyBuckworth | Instagram @KathyBuckworth |