Canadians are staying in Canada

According to the 2018 Smart Travellers survey, despite recent reports that travel between Canada and the US has not suffered the Trump-induced slump that many projected, 42 per cent of Canadians are planning to travel within their own country, while only 19 per cent plan to head to the US for a holiday.

When quizzed about how much of an influence the political climate in the US has had on their travel plans, 57 per cent of respondents said that they were less likely to take a trip to their neighbour. Other factors cited by survey respondents included currency conversion, with 59 per cent of Canadians saying that the exchange rate was influencing their travel decisions.

Concerningly, 19 per cent of Canadians said that they had, at some point, intentionally provided inaccurate information on a travel health insurance medical questionnaire. When asked why, 58 per cent said that they had done so in order to save money on their policy.

“The US has historically been Canada's largest travel destination,” said THiA’s Executive Director, Will McAleer. “These results are consistent with Statistics Canada data showing a five-month decline in travel to the US. Our survey shows that many Canadian travellers will be exploring travel options within our borders.”