A survey conducted by CAA-Quebec on Quebecers’ summer vacation plans found that would-be travelers in the province are becoming more adventurous, with plans for further and longer trips – but they are continuing to overlook insurance.
Last year, most of the survey’s respondents said that they were staying home.
“Quebecers were more relaxed last year, and they seem to want to make up for that in 2017,” explained CAA-Quebec vice-president of travel Philippe Blain. “The statistics show the pendulum swinging back: vacationers are obviously itching to move.”
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According to the survey, seven out of 10 respondents intend to go on a vacation. Among those who said they had to forgo their trip plans, 32% said that job constraints were the main reason they cannot go on a trip. Notably, the proportion of respondents who said that they cannot travel due to their limited budget (28%) was lower this year compared to last.
The survey also revealed that for this year, 30% of respondents said that they would be taking a week’s vacation or less, down from 35% last year. Conversely, the proportion of respondents planning to take two-week vacations this year increased to 35%, from 31% in 2016. August remains the most popular month for traveling, with 46% of respondents saying they are taking time off during the month following the construction holiday. About 25% of the respondents said that their trips will coincide with the two-week construction holiday.
More Quebecers are looking into traveling further for their vacations, the survey also discovered. Only 12% of respondents said that they are taking a “staycation” (down from 17% in 2016). Those wishing to vacation in other parts of Quebec made up 52% of the respondents. Eleven per cent (11%) said they were vacationing elsewhere in Canada, while 11% said they were set for a trip to the US. Eight per cent (8%) said they are going on a trip to Europe for summer.
One glaring issue identified by the survey however, is the still-considerable number of travelers without insurance. Twelve per cent (12%) of the survey’s respondents said that they will be vacationing without travel insurance to cover any medical expenses they might have. Many of these respondents wrongly assume that their Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ) insurance provides full coverage when they are travelling in another province, or that their credit card provider’s insurance is enough.
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