Half Of Canadians Would Swap `Home For The Holidays' Vacation For Exotic Trip If No One's Feelings Were Hurt

Toronto, ON - According to a new Ipsos-Reid/Expedia study, if no one's feelings were hurt, half (52%) of Canadians say they would "swap the traditional `home for the holidays' trip for a more exotic vacation". This admission is not surprising given that when asked who in their life they think "most deserves the gift of travel this holiday", half (51%) of Canadians point to "themselves and their spouse or partner."

Almost half (46%) of Canadians feel the strong performance of the Canadian dollar will make them "more likely to travel outside of Canada this December holiday season or in the New Year".

So, what kind of vacation would they want to take? If they could create a dream vacation package, from a list of five options, 29% would create the "European Luxury holiday package with a first-class flight to Paris a stay in a luxury hotel and a cruise on the Seine," 27% would pick the "Tropical Desires package with a Caribbean vacation with secluded beaches", 18% would create the "Family Fun vacation package with a flight to Florida with your family and a stay at the perfect hotel and tickets to Disney World", 15% would create the "Classic Canadiana package with a flight to Halifax, a scenic road trip on the Cabot Trail with stops at quaint local lodges", and 7% would create the "High Roller vacation package with a flight to Vegas, stay at the Bellagio and a luxury sports car for the weekend."

A majority of Canadians (70%) plan to take a vacation or pleasure trip this "December holiday season or over New Year's" to one of several places. Nearly two in ten (17%) Canadians plan to go to a southern destination other than the U.S., 14% plan to go to the U.S., 14% plan to go somewhere within their province, 13% plan to go to another province, and 12% plan to visit another part of the world.

Many Canadians will probably be booking their upcoming trips online, as four in ten (38%) Canadians say they have used the Internet to "book or pay for vacation packages, travel arrangements, or hotel accommodations" in the past two years.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid/ Expedia poll conducted from November 9th to November 11th 2004. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1000 adult Canadians were interviewed by telephone. 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 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.

Half Of Canadians Would Swap Holidays At Home For A More Exotic Vacation...

When it comes to the question of whether, "if no one's feelings would be hurt" they would "swap the traditional `home for the holidays' trip for a more exotic vacation", Canadians are almost evenly split - with 52% saying "yes" they would do this swap and 47% saying "no" they would not.

• Residents of British Columbia (59%) are the most likely of Canadians to say they would "swap the traditional `home for the holidays' trip for a more exotic vacation", followed by residents of Quebec (55%), Alberta (54%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (50%), Ontario (50%), and Atlantic Canada (45%).

• Those aged 18-54 are significantly more likely than those aged 55 and over to say they would "swap the traditional `home for the holidays' trip for a more exotic vacation" (59% vs. 38%).

• Men are more likely than women to say they would "swap the traditional `home for the holidays' trip for a more exotic vacation" (58% vs. 47%).

Canadians Feel Their Spouse And Themselves Are The Most Deserved Of A Holiday

When asked who in their life they think "most deserves the gift of travel this holiday", half of Canadians point to themselves and their spouse or partner (51%), 25% point to their parents, 19% point to their kids, and 1% point to their boss. A small proportion of Canadians (5%) think that none of these people most deserve the gift of travel this holiday.

• Residents of Atlantic Canada (61%) are the most likely to say themselves and their spouse would most deserve the gift of travel this holiday, followed by residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba (58%), Quebec (52%), Alberta (48%) and Ontario (48%), and British Columbia (46%).

• Canadians age 35 and over are significantly more likely than those aged 18-34 to say they and their spouse is most deserving of the gift of travel this holiday season (56% vs. 39%).

• Men are more likely than women to say they and their spouse is most deserving of the gift of travel this holiday (57% vs. 45%), while are more likely than men to say their kids deserve a gift of travel this holiday (25% vs. 13%).

• Those with an annual household income of $30,000 or more are significantly more likely than those with an annual household income of less than $30,000 to say they and their spouse is most deserving of the gift of travel this summer (55% vs. 38%).

Almost Half of Canadians Feel The Performance Of The Dollar Will Make Them More Likely To Travel

Almost half of Canadians (46%) feel the strong performance of the Canadian dollar will make them "more likely to travel outside of Canada this December holiday season or in the New Year". Meanwhile, just over half (54%) of Canadians say the stronger dollar does not make it more likely that they will travel outside of Canada.

• Residents of Alberta (54%) are the most likely of Canadians to say the higher dollar will make them more likely to travel outside of Canada this holiday season, followed by residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba (52%), Ontario (50%), British Columbia (46%), Atlantic Canada (43%), and finally Quebec (37%).

• Those aged 18-54 are significantly more likely than those aged 55 and over to say they are more likely to travel outside of Canada this holiday season (49% vs. 39%).

Canadians' Dream Vacation

When Canadians are asked to choose from a list of five possible dream vacation packages, which one they would choose, 29% say "European Luxury: A first-class flight to Paris a stay in a luxury hotel and a cruise on the Seine"; 27% say "Tropical Desires: a Caribbean vacation with secluded beaches"; 18% say a "Family Fun: a flight to Florida with your family, a stay at the perfect hotel and tickets to Disney World"; 15% say "Classic Canadiana: a flight to Halifax, scenic road trip on the Cabot Trail with stops at quaint local lodges"; and 7% say a "High Roller vacation: a flight to Vegas, stay at the Bellagio and a luxury sports car for the weekend". Just 3% of Canadians would choose "none of the above" as a dream vacation package.

• Canadians aged 18-54 are more likely than those 55 and older (21% vs. 13%) to say their dream vacation would be "Family Fun", while those aged 55 and over are more likely than those aged 18-54 (21% vs. 12%) to say their dream vacation would be "Classic Canadiana"

• Women are more likely than men to say their dream vacation would be "Family Fun" (21% vs. 15%), while men are slightly more likely than women to say their dream vacation package would be a "High Roller "vacation (9% vs. 6%).

Most Canadians Have Travel Plans For The Holidays

Seven in ten Canadians (70%) say they are taking a vacation or pleasure trip this December holiday season or over New Years to one of several places: 17% of Canadians plan to visit a southern destination other than the U.S., 14% plan to go to the United States, 14% plan to visit somewhere within their province, 13% plan to travel to another province, and 12% plan to go to another part of the world.

Three in ten Canadians (29%) say they are not taking a vacation or pleasure trip this holiday season, while 1% of Canadians "don't know" if they are going to take a vacation this holiday season.

• Those Canadians age 35 and over are significantly more likely than those aged 18-34 to say they are not taking a vacation or pleasure trip this holiday season (34% vs. 20%).

• Women are more likely than men to say they are not taking a vacation or pleasure trip this holiday season (33% vs. 25%).

Four In Ten Canadians Have Booked A Trip Online

Four in ten Canadians (38%) say they have used the Internet to "book or pay for vacation packages, travel arrangements, or hotel accommodations" over the past two years - with the majority (62%) saying they have not used the Internet for this purpose.

• Residents of British Columbia (51%) are the most likely to have used the Internet for this purpose, followed by residents of Ontario (44%), Alberta (43%), Atlantic Canada (39%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (24%), and Quebec (21%).

• Those aged 18-54 are significantly more likely than those aged 55 and over to have used the internet for this purpose (42% vs. 29%).

• Men are more likely than women to have used the Internet for this purpose (41% vs. 34%).

• Canadians who live in urban areas are significantly more likely than those who live in rural areas to say they have used the Internet to "book or pay for vacation packages, travel arrangements, or hotel accommodations (40% vs. 28%).

• As annual household income rises, the likelihood of having used the Internet to "book or pay for vacation packages, travel arrangements, or hotel accommodations" also rises (20% among those with an annual household income of under $30,000, 33% among those with an annual household income of $30,000 to less than $60,000, and 55% among those with an annual household income of $60,000 or more).

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