Half (48%) Of Canadians Plan On Vacationing This Summer

Toronto, ON - According to a new Ipsos-Reid survey conducted on behalf of Expedia.ca, half (48%) of Canadians plan on taking a vacation or a trip this summer. Canada is the top destination to most (61%) Canadian vacationers, with 35% travelling within their own province and 26% to another province. Just 15% plan to head south to the United States, the same proportion (13%) as those who plan to travel to other parts of the world. One in ten (10%) vacationers "don't know" where they'll go.

When visiting a foreign country, "accidentally disrespecting a local custom" tops the list of things that would be most embarrassing, with 50% of Canadians who have ever taken a vacation that say so. The second most embarrassing scenario from the list of four is "trying to communicate in a language you're unfamiliar with" (25%), followed by "using hand-signals to communicate that you need to find a washroom" (13%) and "dressing inappropriately" (7%). The remaining 5% don't know which would be most embarrassing.

Asked to choose which of a series of international delicacies they'd most likely dare try while on vacation, one-quarter (25%) of Canadians who have ever taken a vacation choose "alligator jambalaya in New Orleans," 15% say "haggis in Scotland," 10% say "turtle fritters in the Cayman Islands," and 6% say "sheep's brains in Morocco." On the other hand, when asked the question, 41% say "I wouldn't try any, get me to the nearest fast food restaurant."

In the past two years, nearly six in ten (57%) Canadians who have ever taken a vacation have used the Internet or visited a website to get information about or research destinations for pleasure or vacation trips and one-third (34%) have done so to book or pay for a vacation travel, flights, accommodations, packages, and so on.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid/Expedia.ca poll conducted from May 4th to May 6th, 2004. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1000 adult Canadians was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 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.

Asked whether or not they plan on taking a vacation or a trip this summer, that is between Victoria Day and Labour Day, 48% of Canadians say "yes," 46% say "no," 4% say they "never take vacation/pleasure trips," and 1% "don't know."

• Residents of Quebec (55%) are most likely to go on vacation this summer, followed by residents of British Columbia (53%), Alberta (47%), Ontario (45%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (43%), and Atlantic Canada (38%).

• Canadians 35-54 years of age (55%) are more likely to go on vacation this summer than those who are older (43%) or younger (44%).

• The likelihood of going on vacation this summer increases with annual household income: 30% of Canadians with an annual household income of less than $30,000 plan to go on a trip this summer, 47% of those with an annual household income of $30,000-$59,999 plan to do so, and 62% of Canadians with an annual household income of $60,000 or greater plan to take a trip this summer.

Canada is the top destination to most (61%) Canadian vacationers, with 35% travelling within their own province and 26% to another province. Just 15% plan to head south to the United States (1% Florida, 13% elsewhere), the same proportion (13%) as those who plan to travel to other parts of the world (8% Europe, 2% The Caribbean, 3% elsewhere). One in ten (10%) vacationers "don't know" where they'll go.

• Canadians 35-54 years of age (42%) are more likely to vacation within their own province than those who are older (28%) or younger (29%).

When visiting a foreign country, "accidentally disrespecting a local custom" tops the list of things that would be most embarrassing, with 50% of Canadians who have ever taken a vacation that say so. The second most embarrassing scenario from the list of four is "trying to communicate in a language you're unfamiliar with" (25%), followed by "using hand-signals to communicate that you need to find a washroom" (13%) and "dressing inappropriately" (7%). The remaining 5% don't know which would be most embarrassing.

• Residents of British Columbia (58%) are most likely to be most embarrassed by accidentally disrespecting a local custom, followed by residents of Ontario (54%), Atlantic Canada (52%), Alberta (51%), and Saskatchewan/Manitoba (49%). Residents of Quebec (37%) are the least likely to feel this way.

• Canadians 18-54 years of age (57%) are more likely than their elders (34%) to be most embarrassed by accidentally disrespecting a local custom, while Canadians 55 and older are more likely than those who are younger to be most embarrassed trying to communicate in a language they're unfamiliar with (31% vs. 23%) or using hand-signals to communicate that they need to find a washroom (19% vs. 11%).

• Canadians with a college diploma or a university degree (57%) are more likely than those without (35%) to be most embarrassed by accidentally disrespecting a local custom, while Canadians with a high school diploma or less (36%) are more likely than those with a college diploma or a university degree (20%) to be most embarrassed trying to communicate in a language they're unfamiliar with.

• Canadians with an annual household income of $30,000 or greater (53%) are more likely than those with less (38%) to be most embarrassed by accidentally disrespecting a local custom. Canadians with an annual household income less than $60,000 (31%) are more likely than those with more (19%) to be most embarrassed trying to communicate in a language they're unfamiliar with.

Asked to choose which of a series of international delicacies they'd most likely dare try while on vacation, one-quarter (25%) of Canadians who have ever taken a vacation choose "alligator jambalaya in New Orleans," 15% say "haggis in Scotland," 10% say "turtle fritters in the Cayman Islands," and 6% say "sheep's brains in Morocco." On the other hand, when asked the question 41% say "I wouldn't try any, get me to the nearest fast food restaurant." The remaining 1% doesn't know which they'd dare try.

• Residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba (57%) are the most likely to opt for the nearest fast food restaurant, followed by residents of Quebec (48%), Atlantic Canada (44%), Ontario (41%), Alberta (34%), and British Columbia (27%).

• Canadians 18-54 years of age (31%) are more likely than their elders (11%) to opt for alligator jambalaya in New Orleans, while Canadians 55 and older (49%) are more likely than those who are younger (38%) to choose the fast food restaurant.

• Men (19%) are more likely than women (12%) to go for the haggis in Scotland, while women (47%) are more likely than men (35%) to find the nearest fast food restaurant.

• Canadians with a high school diploma or less (57%) are more likely than those with a college diploma or a university degree (34%) to pick a fast food restaurant.

• Canadians with an annual household income of $60,000 or greater (34%) are more likely than those with less (22%) to go for the alligator jambalaya in New Orleans, while those with an annual household income of less than $60,000 (45%) are more likely than those with more (32%) to pick the fast food restaurant.

In the past two years, nearly six in ten (57%) Canadians who have ever taken a vacation have used the Internet or visited a website to get information about or research destinations for pleasure or vacation trips. The remaining 43% have not.

• Residents of Alberta (66%) are the most likely to have used the Internet or visited a website to get information about or research destinations for pleasure or vacation trips, followed by residents of British Columbia (60%), Ontario (60%), and Quebec (55%). Residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba (40%) and Atlantic Canada (47%) are the least likely to have done so.

• Canadians 18-54 years of age (65%) are more likely than their elders (34%) to have used the Internet or visited a website to get information about or research destinations for pleasure or vacation trips.

• The likelihood of having used the Internet or visited a website to get information about or research destinations for pleasure or vacation trips increases with level of education: 22% of Canadians with less than a high school diploma have done so, 39% of those with a high school diploma have done so, 60% of those with a college diploma or some university have done so, and 80% of Canadians with a university degree have done so.

• The likelihood of having used the Internet or visited a website to get information about or research destinations for pleasure or vacation trips increases with annual household income: 31% of Canadians with an annual household income of less than $30,000 have done so, 54% of those with an annual household income of $30,000-$59,999 have done so, and 76% of Canadians with an annual household income of $60,000 or greater have done so.

One-third (34%) of Canadians who have ever taken a vacation have used the Internet or visited a website to book or pay for a vacation travel, flights, accommodations, packages, and so on. Two-thirds (66%) have not.

• Residents of Alberta (46%) are the most likely to have used the Internet or visited a website to book or pay for a vacation travel, flights, accommodations, packages, and so on, followed by residents of British Columbia (39%), Ontario (36%), and Quebec (30%). Residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba (19%) and Atlantic Canada (25%) are the least likely to have done so.

• Canadians 18-54 years of age (39%) are more likely than their elders (23%) to have used the Internet or visited a website to book or pay for a vacation travel, flights, accommodations, packages, and so on.

• The likelihood of having used the Internet or visited a website to book or pay for a vacation travel, flights, accommodations, packages, and so on increases with level of education: 10% of Canadians with less than a high school diploma have done so, 18% of those with a high school diploma have done so, 32% of those with a college diploma or some university have done so, and 57% of Canadians with a university degree have done so.

• The likelihood of having used the Internet or visited a website to book or pay for a vacation travel, flights, accommodations, packages, and so on increases with annual household income: 16% of Canadians with an annual household income of less than $30,000 have done so, 26% of those with an annual household income of $30,000-$59,999 have done so, and 53% of Canadians with an annual household income of $60,000 or greater have done so.

Please open the attached PDF to view the factum and detailed tables.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:

John Wright
Senior Vice-President
Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2900