Finder.com Tracks Canadians’ Short-Term Travel Plans  

According to Finder’s Global Travel Index, just 16% of Canadians – or an estimated 5 million people — plan to do any travelling in the short term.

The index also reports that while more Canadians plan to travel domestically than they do internationally, the numbers remain somewhat flat month-to-month.

As well, Finder’s Global Travel Index also found that Canadians are most likely to travel domestically in May and plans in this month have risen with each iteration of the survey, with just 2.25% saying they planned to travel domestically in May in the February survey, rising slightly to 2.50% in March and now sitting at 6.99%.

As for Canadian’s international travel plans, Finder’s Global Travel Index hovered between approximately 1% and 3% for March, April, May, June or July, showing there is far less interest, or even ability, to leave the country in the short term.

Meanwhile travel seems to be back on the cards for our neighbours to the south, with just over a quarter (26%) of American adults planning to take at least one trip in the next three months.

Finder.com’s Nicole McKnight said that while Canadians may be dreaming of their next vacation they are careful to be far more realistic than optimistic.

Said McKnight: “The third wave has hit Canada like a tsunami, with higher case counts and hospitalizations than we have seen since the start of the pandemic. While Canadians are exhausted and looking forward to a return to normal, this global travel index illustrates we are the most pessimistic nation when it comes to actually going on a vacation — at least in the short term.”

She also notes that: “As things currently stand, the Canadian government is advising travellers to stay at home and obey lockdown orders in provinces like Ontario, Canada’s most populous and hardest hit province and in a turn of the tables American officials are now warning their citizens not to head north.”

But, says McKnight, despite the doom and gloom there are potentially some rainbows on the horizon for Canadians looking for ways to satisfy their wanderlust.

She observed that: “Finder.com is seeing traffic increases of 12% to our Travel Deals page this past month, indicating Canadians are starting to research their next vacation or even book in advance to lock in deals, enticed by the deep savings and the ability to cancel should vaccinations be delayed further for example.”

Just ahead of Canada in the rankings are countries like Singapore (19.33%), New Zealand (19.60%) and Spain (20.84%), with Malaysia having the highest percentage of people planning to travel (44.36%), followed by India (41.15%), the Philippines (38.58%) and Italy (37.83%).

Breaking it down by the percentage of people planning to travel over the next three months (May, June, July), Finder.com’s list is as follows:

• Malaysia (44.36%)
• India (41.15%)
• The Philippines (38.58%)
• Italy (37.83%)
• Russian Federation (36.59%)
• France (35.71%)
• The Netherlands (29.43%)
• Hong Kong, SAR (28.64%)
• United States of America (25.77%)
• United Kingdom (23.65%)
• Germany (22.47%)
• Ireland (22.18%)
• South Africa (21.63%)
• Brazil (21.18%)
• Australia (20.87%)
• Spain (20.84%)
• New Zealand (19.60%)
• Singapore (19.33%)
• Canada (16.49%)

The Finder’s Travel Index is an ongoing survey which has so far gathered responses from 88,966 people in 19 countries.

To review the full report, go to https://www.finder.com/ca/finders-travel-index .