One-Third Of Canadians Say They Tend To Feel Exhausted After Visiting Family For The Holidays, 15% Look Forward To Next Trip Without The Family

Toronto, ON - According to an Ipsos-Reid/Expedia study conducted in November 2004, many Canadians say that after visiting with the family during the holidays they either feel "exhausted" (32%) or "look forward to planning their next trip without the family" (15%).

A majority of Canadians (76%) said they are "planning a vacation or pleasure trip in the New Year, that is, in January, February, or March 2005" and these Canadians have diverse travel plans. Two in ten (20%) Canadians say they plan to go to a southern destination other than the U.S., 17% plan to visit the United States, 16% plan to go to another part of the world, and 14% plan to visit another province in Canada, and 9% plan to vacation within their province.

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.

How Do Canadians Feel After Holiday Family Visits?

When Canadians think about the visits they have had with their family over the holidays in the past, after spending the holidays visiting their family 39% say they were excited for next year and already began planning their next trip back home; 32% say they were exhausted and needed a vacation from their vacation; and 15% say they were looking forward to planning their next trip, without the family. Meanwhile, 13% of Canadians say they felt none of these things and 1% "don't know" how they felt.

• Canadians aged 18-54 are more likely than those aged 55 and over to say they are exhausted and need a vacation from their vacation (37% vs. 23%).

Most Canadians Have Travel Plans Winter 2005

Three-quarters of Canadians (76%) say they are "planning a vacation or pleasure trip in the new year, that is, in January, February, or March 2005". One in five Canadians (20%) say they will be taking a trip to a southern destination other than the U.S. in these coming New Year months, 17% say they will be going to the United States, 16% say they will be going to another part of the world, 14% say they will be going to another province in Canada, and 9% say they will take a vacation within the province.

One-quarter of Canadians (24%) say they are not taking a vacation or pleasure trip in the upcoming winter months of January, February, or March. Only a very small proportion of Canadians (1%) "don't know" if they will be taking a vacation in these upcoming New Year's months.

• No demographic trends are apparent with respect to this question.

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