The Annual Expedia Winter Survey

Toronto, ON - A new Ipsos Reid survey conducted on behalf of expedia.ca finds that two in three (66%) Canadians will be taking a vacation this coming holiday season and three in four (73%) plan to take a vacation in the New Year.

There may be more travellers coming from Alberta this season as 15% say they are likely to put their upcoming $400 prosperity cheque towards a vacation this winter. And, what if those residing in other provinces were to receive a prosperity cheque? Three in ten (31%) say that if they were to receive a similar cheque they would put it towards a winter trip.

If money were not an issue, one in three (34%) Canadians would like to celebrate New Year's Eve on a tropical beach somewhere, 21% would like to be somewhere in Europe, and 15% would like to ring in the New Year at a mountain resort in Canada or the US. This compares to 7% who choose Times Square in NYC and 8% who choose Las Vegas or a big Canadian city.

The survey also reveals that four in ten (41%) Canadians say the strong performance of the Canadian dollar makes them more likely to travel outside of Canada this holiday season and/or in the New Year.

Finally, when it comes to vacation planning preferences, one in three (31%) Canadians think it would be convenient to split the cost between two credit cards when booking a trip. And, the survey finds that six in ten (61%) Canadians indicate that they have used the Internet in the past two years to research vacation trips and four in ten (38%) have used it to book or pay for vacation packages, travel arrangements, or hotel accommodations.

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid/expedia.ca poll conducted from November 1 to November 3, 2005. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1002 adult Canadians was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within +/-3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 2001 Census data.

Please open attached files to view full press release and detailed tables.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
Jennifer McLeod
Senior Research Manager
Ipsos-Reid
416.324.2900
[email protected]

Ipsos Reid
Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader and the country's leading provider of public opinion research. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos-Reid employs more than 300 researcher professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in Canada, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and on-line panels. Ipsos Reid's Canadian marketing research and public affairs practices are staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, offering the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada - including the Ipsos Trend Report, the leading source of public opinion in the country - all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.

Ipsos
Ipsos is a leading global survey-based market research company, owned and managed by research professionals. Ipsos helps interpret, simulate, and anticipate the needs and responses of consumers, customers, and citizens around the world.

Member companies assess market potential and interpret market trends. They develop and build brands. They help clients build long-term relationships with their customers. They test advertising and study audience responses to various media. They measure public opinion around the globe.

Ipsos member companies offer expertise in advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, and public affairs research, as well as forecasting, modeling, and consulting. Ipsos has a full line of custom, syndicated, omnibus, panel, and online research products and services, guided by industry experts and bolstered by advanced analytics and methodologies. The company was founded in 1975 and has been publicly traded since 1999. In 2004, Ipsos generated global revenues of 605.6 million Euro ($752.8 million U.S.).

Visit www.ipsos.com to learn more about Ipsos offerings and capabilities.