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TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 03/13/13 -- According to the 2013 BMO Spring Travel Survey released today, the vast majority of Canadians have the travel bug, with four-in-five (79 per cent) planning a trip this spring.
The study, conducted by Pollara, revealed Canadians plan to spend an average of $2,431 on trips during the spring season, as well as the average spend among travellers making the following trips:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average Canadians Travelling AverageTrip Duration (%) Planned Spend----------------------------------------------------------------------------Weekend trip 49 $2,157----------------------------------------------------------------------------Week-long trip 35 $2,636----------------------------------------------------------------------------Two-week trip 13 $4,254----------------------------------------------------------------------------Over two-week trip 7 $6,490----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The spring season has traditionally been a popular time for travel. According to BMO Economics, because of the strong pull of warmer climates, Canadians tend to increase their spending on spring foreign travel by about four per cent over the yearly average. "Even with the moderate decline in the Canadian dollar in recent weeks, the currency remains historically strong," said Doug Porter, Chief Economist, BMO Capital Markets. "We continue to expect the loonie to trade just below parity through the spring travel season."
The BMO survey shows that while 59 per cent of travellers plan to visit other provinces, nearly half (49 per cent) will travel to the U.S., while 18 per cent will visit Central/South America, the Caribbean or Mexico.
Regional Breakdown
Among Canadians, British Columbians (88 per cent) and Albertans (86 per cent) are the most likely to travel during the spring, while Quebecers are the least likely (69 per cent). Other key findings include:
-- British Columbians ($2,641) and Ontarians ($2,638) plan to spend the most on spring travel-- Travellers in Alberta (75 per cent), Atlantic Canada (74 per cent) and the Prairies (72 per cent) are the most likely to head to another province, while Quebec travellers (49 per cent) are the least likely to travel within Canada-- Nationwide, Ontario travellers (14 per cent) prefer Central and South America, British Columbians (12 per cent) favour Mexico, whereas Quebecers (10 per cent) are the most likely to travel to Europe-- Nearly half (44 per cent) will be visiting family, with spring break family vacations (23 per cent) and romantic getaways (22 per cent) the other main reasons for travelling---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL ATL QC ON MB/SK AB BCCanadians' Travel Plans (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)----------------------------------------------------------------------------Travelling this spring 79 80 69 79 84 86 88----------------------------------------------------------------------------Average travel costs $2,431 $2,296 $1,997 $2,638 $2,232 $2,489 $2,641----------------------------------------------------------------------------Visit another province 59 74 49 57 72 75 53----------------------------------------------------------------------------Visit United States 49 37 38 57 52 41 53----------------------------------------------------------------------------Visit Central/South America or the Caribbean 11 10 13 14 2 5 8----------------------------------------------------------------------------Visit Mexico 7 4 10 5 2 5 12----------------------------------------------------------------------------Visit Europe 7 3 10 9 3 7 5----------------------------------------------------------------------------
