Canadians are still eager to travel in the coming year despite economic pressures, according to a new study from Allianz Global Assistance.
In a poll of 2,000 Canadian adults, the travel insurance and assistance provider found that seven in 10 have plans to go on vacation in 2024.
This high level of vacation confidence was particularly robust among high-income households (85%), university graduates (80%), and families with children (79%), according to Allianz.
While individuals over 55 were among the slower cohorts to resume travel post-pandemic, vacation confidence for this segment jumped 10 points from the previous year’s study.
The same demographic accounted for an overall increase in winter vacation confidence, leading to a prediction that snowbird travel will jump back to 2019 levels in 2024.
Dan Keon, vice president, marketing & insights, said these results from Allianz’s 2024 Vacation Confidence Study indicate how Canadians’ travel intentions have returned to pre-pandemic levels.
“In line with rebounding travel volumes, we’ve seen a recovery in the Canadian consumer’s mindset around the importance and prioritization of travel,” he said.
“This shift is propelling Canadians’ confidence in vacationing this winter to a statistically high point in our seven-year survey, indicating a renewed commitment to travel.”
While enthusiasm for travel is evident across age groups, Allianz found that the portion of Canadians within the vacation deficit category remains historically higher than in pre-pandemic years.
Even as this deficit dropped for a second year, a third of Canadians still haven't had a vacation in over two years. Additionally, 17% of respondents said taking an annual vacation is important to them, but they are not confident they can go on a trip in 2014.
“Canadians have been heavily impacted by rising living costs, so it’s no surprise that the study found the biggest obstacle to taking a vacation relates to financial pressures,” said Keon.
“With these challenges in mind, we encourage all Canadians who are planning to travel to include travel insurance in their trip budget. It has never been more critical for travellers to protect their vacation investment, and the cost of travel insurance is a fraction of the potentially catastrophic expenses that can arise due to an unexpected medical emergency abroad.”
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