Four In Ten (39%) More Likely To Travel Outside Of Canada Because Of Strong Dollar

Toronto, ON - Taking advantage of the strength of the Canadian dollar, a new Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of Expedia.ca reveals that four in ten (39%) Canadians are either `much more' (20%) or `somewhat more likely' (19%) to travel outside of Canada this holiday season or in the new year, but six in ten (61%) say that the dollar's strength hasn't made any difference on their likelihood of taking a vacation this winter, perhaps as a result of already having made plans to vacation.

• Ontarians are the most inclined (46%) Canadians to indicate that they are more likely to travel outside of Canada as a result of the strong dollar, followed by residents of Alberta (42%), and British Columbia (40%). Residents of Atlantic Canada (36%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (29%) and Quebec (27%) are less prone to say that their likelihood of travelling outside of Canada has increased as a result of the strong dollar.
• Younger Canadians, aged 18 to 34, have a higher propensity (47%) than middle-aged Canadians (41%), aged 35 to 54, or older Canadians (30%), aged 55 and older, to indicate that they are more likely to travel outside of Canada as a result of the strong dollar.

In fact, fewer than three in ten (28%) Canadians indicate that they will not be taking a trip this holiday season or over the new year holidays, which is considerably less than indicated this last year (37%). Further, two in ten Canadians (19%) are intending to travel to the United States (up from 11% last year), 13% to a southern destination other than the U.S. (up from 10% last year), and 13% to another part of the world (down from 15% last year).

• Ontarians (23%) are the most likely to indicate that their travel plans include a trip to the U.S., while British Columbians (20%), Albertans (17%), residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba (15%), Quebec (14%) and Atlantic Canada ( 14%) are less likely to do so.
• Quebecers are more likely (19%) than residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba (16%), Ontario (14%), British Columbia (8%), Alberta (8%) and Atlantic Canada (5%) to say that they will be taking a trip to a southern destination outside of the United States.
• Residents of Atlantic Canada (31%) and Ontario (31%) are the most likely to say that they will not be taking any vacations or pleasure trips over the holiday season or over the new-year holiday, followed by residents of Alberta (27%), British Columbia (26%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (26%) and finally Quebec (24%).

Perhaps taking advantage of lower prices within Canada as a result of the lofty loony, 15% of Canadians intend to do some travelling within their own province (up from 12% last year), while 11% are planning on travelling within Canada but outside of their own province (same as last year).

• Quebecers are the most likely (21%) to indicate that they will be staying within their province, while residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba (4%) are the least likely to indicate this.
• Atlantic Canadians (24%) and residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba (24%) are the most likely to say that they will travel within Canada but to another province over the holiday season.
• Younger Canadians are more likely (18%) than middle-aged (14%) or older Canadians (8%) to indicate that they will be travelling to a sun destination outside of the United States.

Thinking about the opportunity to travel in the new year - sometime during January, February or March - just two in ten (21%) Canadians say that they will not be taking a pleasure trip in the new year, which is down from 33% who said the same last year. Two in ten (21%) plan to travel to the US (up from 16% last year), while 17% will go some place south but not the U.S. (up from 12% last year), and 18% intend to go to another part of the world (up from 17% last year). However, some Canadians intend to stay within their own province (8%, up from 7% last year) or travel to another province (8%, down from 10% last year).

• Albertans are most likely (27%) to say that they will go to the States, compared to Ontarians (25%), Atlantic Canadians (22%), British Columbians (21%), residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba (20%) and Quebecers (14%).
• Older Canadians have a higher propensity (27%) to say that they will be going to the United States in the new year, while middle-aged (20%) and younger Canadians (17%) are less likely to indicate this. Younger Canadians, though, are more likely (22%) to indicate that they will be going to a sun destination outside of the U.S. than are middle-aged (17%) and older Canadians (14%).
• Interestingly, no Canadians from any province or region of the country are more likely than others to say that they will not take a vacation in the new year.

Canadians Prefer Sun Destinations...

And thinking about where they would like to go on holidays, four in ten (39%) Canadians would choose a fun in the sun trip to somewhere tropical, while three in ten (27%) would prefer to go on a sightseeing trip to somewhere like Europe. Fourteen percent (14%) of Canadians say that they would like to take a trip to New York to take advantage of cheaper shopping and lower sales tax, and one in nine (11%) would like to take a trip to Vegas for some shows and gambling.

• Albertans are the most likely (49%) to indicate that they would choose a fun in the sun trip, while Quebecers are the most likely (38%) to suggest that they would take a sightseeing trip to Europe. Ontarians are the most likely to say that they would go to New York (18%), while British Columbians would be more likely than other Canadians to head down to Vegas (14%). Interestingly, three quarters (27%) of Atlantic Canadians indicate that none of these trips are appealing to them.
• Younger Canadians are more likely to suggest that a fun in the sun trip (43%) would be most appealing to them, while middle-aged Canadians would be slightly more inclined (27%) than older (26%) or younger Canadians (26%) to take a sightseeing trip. Older Canadians (14%) are more likely to suggest that a Vegas trip would be most appealing to them.
• More men (44%) than women (35%) would prefer a sun trip, while more women (31%) than men (23%) would prefer a sightseeing trip.

Canadians Getting Their Passports...

For air travel outside of Canada, though, passports are required, but it appears that Canadians are adjusting to new American legislation that requires them to show their passports to enter the United States by air. Nearly six in ten (57%) Canadians now indicate that they have a passport, compared to just one half (50%) of Canadians who, last year, indicated that they had a passport.

• Albertans (67%) claim to be the most likely to have a passport followed by residents of Ontario (64%), British Columbia (58%), Atlantic Canada (49%), Quebec (47%) and Saskatchewan and Manitoba (45%).
• Older Canadians (62%) are more likely than middle-aged (56%) and younger Canadians (52%) to claim to have a passport.
• More men (60%) than women (54%) say that they have a passport.
• More urban Canadians (59%) than rural Canadians (48%) indicate that this is the case.

Among Canadians who do not have a passport, four in ten (41%) plan to obtain a passport either for themselves (38%) or for a family member (3%). This is compared to 35% of Canadians who didn't have a passport last year but intended to purchase one. However, not having a passport isn't stopping over one quarter (26%) of Canadians who don't have one from travelling.

• Albertans who don't have a passport are the most likely to claim that they intend to get one (54%) compared to Ontarians (49%), residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba (43%), British Columbia (42%), Quebec (35%) and Atlantic Canada (21%). /li>
• Younger Canadians who don't have a passport are more likely (47%) than middle-aged (41%) or older Canadians (36%) to say that they will get one.
• Men (47%) who don't have a passport are more likely than women (37%) who are in the same boat to suggest that they will be getting a passport in the near future.

Annoying Airplane Seat-Mates...

Thinking about air travel, Canadians were given the opportunity to indicate which holiday-season fictional character they would least like to sit beside on an airplane. Three in ten (29%) Canadians would least like to sit beside the Grinch because he would ruin their merry holiday mood. Two in ten (20%) Canadians, though, would least like to sit beside Santa because his jolly laugh would interrupt the in-flight movie (or perhaps less room to move around), while a similar proportion (19%) would least like to sit beside Scrooge for fear of being forced to count pennies the entire flight. Fourteen percent (14%) of Canadians would least like to sit beside Frosty due to his tendency to melt, while one in nine (11%) would least like to sit beside Rudolph because his red nose would keep them awake the entire flight.

• Atlantic Canadians (39%) and Quebecers (37%) are the most likely to say that they wouldn't want to sit beside the Grinch, while Albertans are most likely to say that they wouldn't like to sit beside Scrooge (30%). Santa had the worst showing in British Columbia (22%) and Quebec (22%), and Frosty was an unpopular seat-mate in Ontario (17%). Residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba seemed to have more problems with Rudolph (15%) than those in the rest of the country.
• Young Canadians would least like to sit next to the Grinch (37%), while this sentiment is less pronounced among middle-aged (28%) and older Canadians (24%). Older Canadians are more likely to be bothered by Rudolph (13%) than are middle-aged (12%) and younger Canadians (7%).
• Interestingly, 8% of men and just 3% of women say that they wouldn't have a problem sitting beside any of these folks on an airplane.

Many Canadians Would Use Mid-Winter Long Weekend To Get Away...

Some provinces have recently moved towards instituting a long-weekend holiday in February, while other provinces remain envious of that fact. It appears that many Canadians plan to take advantage of the extra day off and to do some travelling. One third (32%) of Canadians indicate that they will (if they have a mid-winter long weekend) or would (if they don't have one) take a short getaway over the long weekend, while 7% say that they will or would take a major trip away from home over the long weekend.

• Quebecers are the most likely of Canadians living across the country to say that they would take a short getaway over the long-weekend holiday (48%), followed by Albertans (31%), British Columbians (30%), residents of Atlantic Canada (26%), Ontario (25%) and Saskatchewan and Manitoba (21%).
• Atlantic Canadians would be the most likely (15%), however, to take a major trip away from home over this long weekend, if they had one, while Albertans (2%) are the least likely.
• Residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba (70%) and Ontario (67%) are the most likely to indicate that they would just stay home and relax, as are older Canadians (70%) when compared to middle-aged (59%) and younger Canadians (49%).

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of Expedia.ca from Nov 6 to Nov 8, 2007. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1000 Canadians was interviewed online. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 1773.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult 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 that the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to Census data.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
John Wright
Senior Vice President
Ipsos Reid
Public Affairs
(416) 324-2002
[email protected]

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