/R E P E A T -- This Just In: December 23 is expected to be the busiest travel day of the holiday season!/

19/12/2016 04:00

Expedia.ca offers useful tips to get through the busiest travel day with cheer

TORONTO, Dec. 19, 2016 /CNW/ - Based on flight bookings made on Expedia.ca^TM, Canada's leading full-service online travel provider, within the peak holiday travel period (December 17^th to January 8^th), Saturday, December 23 is shaping up to be the busiest day of the season! Those starting their holiday getaway on December 31 can rejoice as they'll be travelling on the quietest travel day of the 2016 holiday season. However, return travel peaks as the New Year begins, with Tuesday, January 3 expected to be the busiest day to travel back home! Regardless of when you plan to travel, Canadians should always pack their patience throughout this entire period as the holiday season is among the busiest of the year for travel.

While some Canadians will be travelling domestically to celebrate the season with friends and family, others will be taking the opportunity to escape winter and head south for a warm and relaxing beach vacation. Based on Expedia.ca flight bookings, domestic travel continues to be popular, making up most of the top 5 destinations Canadians are planning to travel to overall:

Toronto
Las Vegas
Vancouver
Montreal
Orlando

Travel to the U.S. is also expected to be strong over the holidays, with Las Vegas maintaining its spot as the #1 U.S. destination for the past 5 years, followed by Orlando, New York, Los Angeles and Phoenix. The most popular international destinations Canadians are jetting off to include: Cancun (the most popular beach destination for Canadians), London, Puerto Vallarta, Paris, and Manila.

To help Canadians prepare for the busiest travel day this holiday season, Lauren Reimer, Managing Director of Expedia Canada and seasoned traveller, is available for in-person or telephone interviews from December 19 to December 23. She can speak to key findings based on the busiest travel day data, and provide insider tips and tricks to ensure your holiday travel plans go off without a hitch, including:

How to prepare for the holiday travel rush with ease
How to ensure you're not that person holding everyone up at check-in and security
Tips for keeping the whole family merry in the airport and on the plane

*All data is based on bookings include a flight component (stand-alone flight or build your own packages) made on Expedia.ca between Jan 1 – Dec 5 for travel between Dec 17 – Jan 8.