New Zealand (36%) Tops Wish List of Most Exotic Winter Travel Destination followed by Tahiti (23%), Rio de Janeiro (14%) and Thailand (11%) According to Canadians

However, Canadians are Most Likely to Travel within Canada over Holiday Season (33%) or in Winter/Spring of 2003 (26%) While a Majority (55%) Say they Plan Months in Advance, One in Five (19%) Say they Plan Vacations Only Days in Advance (4%) or on the Spur of the Moment (15%) Canadian Personalities Jim Carrey (28%), David Suzuki (20%) Rate As Good Vacation Guests

8 November 2002

Trends & Prospective

Toronto, ON - According to a new poll conducted by Ipsos-Reid on behalf of Expedia.ca, Canadians, when asked if cost was not a factor, which destination from a wish list of exotic locations would they most like to travel to this winter, identify New Zealand (36%) as their top choice. Tahiti (23%), Rio de Janeiro (14%), Thailand (11%) follow, while 7% would choose the exotic winter destination of Winnipeg. However, the Manitoba capital, ranks higher than Kenya (4%) as a winter destination.

However, Canada appears to be the most likely destination for trips over the holiday season (33%) as well as between January and April of 2003 (26%). Travel to the United States ends up in second spot for both holiday travel (12%) as well as travel for winter/spring 2003 (19%).

A majority (55%) of Canadians report planning vacations months in advance, however, one in five (19%) say they plan vacations only days in advance (4%) or on the spur of the moment (15%). One in five (20%) indicate that they plan vacations weeks in advance.

And if given the choice from a list of Canadian personalities who might join them as a guest on their vacation, funny man Jim Carrey (28%) tops the list, followed by environmentalist and broadcaster David Suzuki (20%) as the second most popular choice. Broadcaster Pamela Wallin (11%), sportscaster Ron MacLean (10%), Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jose Theodore (8%), singer Roch Voisine (6%) and model Linda Evangelista (4%) also rank as potential vacation guests.

A majority (56%) of Canadians indicate that during the last two years they have used or visited a website or used the internet to get information or research destinations for pleasure or vacation trips, while one-quarter (26%) say they have booked or paid for a vacation travel and accommodations over the internet in the last two years.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted on behalf of Expedia.ca between October 28th and October 31st, 2002. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 1,000 adult Canadians. 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 statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 2001Census data.

Canadians, when asked if cost was not a factor, which destination from a wish list of exotic locations would they most like to travel to this winter, identify New Zealand (36%) as their top choice. Tahiti (23%), Rio de Janeiro (14%), Thailand (11%) follow, while 7% would choose the exotic winter destination of Winnipeg. However, the Manitoba capital, ranks higher than Kenya (4%) as a winter destination.

New Zealand is a more popular destination for men (42%) than for women (33%). As well, it is a more popular choice among older (55%) Canadians than for middle aged (36%) or younger (33%) Canadians. Those in upper income households (43%) are more likely to choose New Zealand than are those in middle (34%) or lower (31%) income households.
Tahiti is more likely to be the choice of middle aged (28%) rather than younger (20%) or older (19%) Canadians. As well, it is more likely to be the choice of those in upper income households (25%) than of those in lower income households (18%).
Rio de Janeiro is more likely to be the choice of younger (20%) Canadians than of older (9%) Canadians.
Thailand is the choice of a higher proportion of those in Quebec (17%) compared to British Columbia (9%), Ontario (7%) or Saskatchewan/Manitoba (5%). This Far East country is also a more popular choice of younger (16%) or middle aged (11%) Canadians than among older (5%) Canadians.
Winnipeg is the exotic winter destination choice of a higher proportion of residents of Atlantic Canada (10%) than wither British Columbia (3%) or Alberta (3%). The Manitoba capital is also more likely to be the choice of older (11%) Canadians than either middle aged (6%) or younger (4%) Canadians. As well, Winnipeg is more likely to be the choice of Canadians from lower income households (14%) than from middle (6%) or upper (3%) income households.
British Columbians (8%) are more likely than their counterparts in Alberta (2%), Atlantic Canada (2%) or Quebec (3%) to say that Kenya is their choice of an exotic winter destination.

However, Canada appears to be the most likely destination for trips over the holiday season (33%), while travel to the United States ends up in second spot (12%). Other holiday travel destinations include the Caribbean (8%), Mexico (7%), Europe (3%), Central/South America (2%), Asia (2%) or some other part of the world (5%).

Residents of Alberta (46%) and Quebec (41%) are more likely to say they will be travelling in Canada than residents of Ontario (26%). Quebecers (37%) are more likely than those in any other region to indicate they will be travelling with their province (national 19%).
Atlantic Canadians (17%) and residents of Ontario (16%) and British Columbia (16%) are more likely than those in Quebec (6%) to say they will be travelling to the United States.
Within the United States, the top destinations are Florida (4%), Hawaii (3%), and Las Vegas (1%), while 4% indicate they will be travelling to elsewhere in the United States. Atlantic Canadians (12%) are more likely than those from any other region to say they will be taking a trip to Florida.
Residents of Ontario (13%), Quebec (8%), and Atlantic Canada (9%) are more likely than those in Alberta (3%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (2%), or British Columbia (1%) to indicate they will be taking a trip to the Caribbean this holiday season.

As for vacation destination between January and April of 2003, Canada (26%) also leads all other destinations, with the United States (19%) as second most popular, followed by the Caribbean (10%), Europe (8%), Mexico (7%), Central/South America (3%), Asia (1%) or some other part of the world (7%).

Within Canada, 13% say they will be travelling with their province, while an equal number (13%) say that they will be travelling to another province. Those in Saskatchewan/Manitoba (28%) and Atlantic Canada (27%) are more likely than those in Ontario (12%), British Columbia (11%) and Quebec (6%) to say they will be travelling to another province, while residents of Quebec (21%) are more likely to say they will be travelling within their own province than are residents of Alberta (8%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (8%), Ontario (8%) or Atlantic Canada (8%).
Travel to the United States is broken down into travel to Florida (7%), Hawaii (2%), Las Vegas (2%) or elsewhere in the United States (8%). Atlantic Canadians (13%) are more likely than those in Quebec (5%) or British Columbia (1%) to say they will be going to Florida, while residents of British Columbia (5%) and Saskatchewan/Manitoba (5%) are more likely than those in Quebec (1%) or Atlantic Canada (0%) to say they will be travelling to Hawaii. As well, Las Vegas is more likely to be the destination of those in Alberta (6%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (4%) and British Columbia (3%) than of those in Ontario (1%), Quebec (0%) or Atlantic Canada (0%).
The Caribbean is more likely to be the destination of those in Atlantic Canada (15%) and Ontario (13%) than those in Quebec (8%), British Columbia (7%), Alberta (7%) and Saskatchewan/Manitoba (4%).
Quebecers (13%) are more likely to say they will be travelling to Europe than those in British Columbia (6%), Alberta (5%), or Saskatchewan/Manitoba (2%), while Mexico is more likely to be the destination of those in British Columbia (15%), Alberta (13%), or Saskatchewan/Manitoba (11%) than those in Quebec (6%), Ontario (5%) or Atlantic Canada (1%).

Residents of British Columbia (66%), Alberta (62%) and Saskatchewan/Manitoba (61%) are more likely than those in Ontario (55%), Atlantic Canada (54%) or Quebec (45%) to indicate they plan vacations months in advance. This is also more likely the practice of middle aged (59%) and younger (57%) Canadians than of older (50%) Canadians. Canadians from upper income households (65%) are also more likely than either those in middle (52%) or lower (44%) income households to say they make their travel plans months in advance.
Atlantic Canadians (24%) are more likely than those in Ontario (14%), Alberta (13%) or British Columbia (9%) to say they make travel plans on the spur of the moment. Men (19% versus 12% of women) are more likely to make travel plans this way. Canadians in lower income households (20%) are more likely than those in upper income households (11%) to indicate they make travel plans on the spur of the moment. Meanwhile, Quebecers (9%) are more likely to say they make plans days in advance.

Jim Carrey is the top choice in all regions except Quebec (19%), where Jose Theodore (22%) is the top choice and Roch Voisine (16%) is third.
Jim Carrey is more likely the choice of younger (41%) Canadians than middle aged (33%) or older (9%) Canadians. While David Suzuki is more likely to be the choice of older (26%) or middle aged (21%) Canadians than their younger (14%) counterparts.
Broadcaster Pamela Wallin is the choice of more women (14%) than men (7%), as well she is more likely to be the choice of older (19%) or middle aged (10%) Canadians than of younger (3%) Canadians.
Hockey broadcaster Ron MacLean is more likely to be the choice of men (14% versus 6% of women), younger (13% versus 7% of middle aged) Canadians and those from upper income households (15%).
Montreal Canadiens goaltender is most popular in Quebec (22%), and is more popular among younger (13%) Canadians than among middle aged (8%) or older (4%) Canadians.
Bilingual singer Roch Voisine is the third choice in Quebec (16%), and is more popular among women (9% versus 3% of men) and older (8% versus 4% of younger) Canadians.
Supermodel Linda Evangelista is the choice of a higher proportion of men (7% versus 1% of women) and of younger (6% versus 2% of older) Canadians.

Residents of British Columbia (66%), Ontario (61%) and Alberta (59%) are more likely than those in Quebec (47%), Atlantic Canada (45%) and Saskatchewan/Manitoba (45%) to say they have used the internet to research vacation trips or destinations.
Younger (66%) and middle aged (63%) Canadians are more likely than their older (36%) counterparts to say that they have used the internet for these purposes.
The use of the internet for this purpose is also more likely to be reported by Canadians in upper (76%) or middle (53%) income households than those in lower (35%) income households.

Over the same two year period, one-quarter (26%) say they have booked or paid for a vacation, travel or accommodations over the internet in the last two years, while 73% say they have not done this.

This is more common among middle aged (32%) and younger (30%) Canadians than among older (14%) Canadians.
Canadians from upper income households (37%) are more likely than those in middle (23%) or lower (17%) income households to say they have used the internet to book or pay for vacation, travel, or accommodations over the past two years.

To view the factum and tables, please open the attached PDF files.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

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

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