Three In Five Canadians Not Confident They Will Travel This Winter

TORONTO, Dec. 6, 2016 /CNW/ - According to the inaugural Allianz Global Assistance 2016 Canadian Winter Vacation Confidence survey, 58% of Canadians are not confident they will be taking a winter vacation¹ this year.

The survey, conducted by Ipsos, also revealed that among the 42% of Canadians who are confident they will be taking a vacation this winter, the average anticipated spend per household will remain fairly flat (58%) or higher than the previous year's winter vacation (16%).

"It is an unfortunate reality that more than half of Canadians have a low level of confidence that they will be taking vacation this winter," said Dan Keon, Director, Marketing and Communications, Allianz Global Assistance. "One concern for Canadians considering travel in winter could be the costs of cancellation, especially when you look at the average cost Canadians say they will spend on a winter vacation: $2,593.20 per household."

"This is a significant budget for families which can be easily threatened by unexpected circumstances such as inclement weather," continued Keon. "In those cases, unprotected cancellations could place the entire vacation budget at risk. Travel insurance can typically recover up to 100% of eligible prepaid travel-related expenses lost due to covered reasons for cancellations, such as an unforeseen illness or government advisory restricting travel to your planned destination."

A popular travel choice for many Canadians is to travel south to the United States. However the survey, conducted in early November, revealed that the current value of the Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar could prevent Canadians (56%) from travelling to the United States. With that in mind, the survey even showed that in the most extreme cases, a portion of Canadians have actually already changed their travel plans to bypass the United States in the short term. "While the U.S. remains the top outbound destination for Canadians, the current value of the Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar is clearly coming into play for potential vacationers," added Keon.

"As Canadians, we highly value and look forward to our vacation plans as an opportunity to spend time with loved ones and unwind from our day-to-day stresses," continued Keon. "The survey allowed us to quantify the existing 'Vacation Confidence Deficit,' but also showed that 36% of Canadians haven't had a vacation for more than two years. Clearly many Canadians all across the country are in need of a well-deserved break."

Looking ahead, the picture brightens as a larger majority of Canadians (68%) do expect to take a vacation within the next 12 months. However, the survey does note a persistent lack of confidence: of the 70% of Canadians who identified that an annual vacation is important to them, only 83% are confident they will be travelling in the next 12 months – creating a Vacation Confidence Deficit of 17%.

Additional Survey Results

• Men (47%) are more confident than women (37%) that they will take a winter vacation.
• While men (69%) and women (70%) find annual vacations almost equally important, men (40%) are more likely than women (31%) to take an annual winter vacation.
• Canadian households with kids (49%) are more confident than those without kids (40%) that they will take a winter vacation.
• Nearly half of Canadians took their most recent vacation within the past 12 months, while one in three Canadians have not been on vacation in more than two years.
• Canadian households with an income above $100,000 are the most likely (59%) to take an annual winter vacation, with percentages steadily increasing as disposable income increases: Less than $40,000 (24%), $40,000-59,999 (34%) and $60,000-99,999 (46%).
• Households with children expect to spend just over the national average on their vacation's travel, accommodation and entertainment costs: $2,759.00.
• At $3,394.50, Canadians aged 55+ anticipate spending much more than the national average per household on their vacation.
• When compared to the United States, Europe, Great Britain and Mexico, China is the destination that across the board all demographics are the least likely to visit regardless of how the Canadian dollar compares to the local currency.
• When looking at vacation plans in the past 12 months, Canadians aged 55+ (68%) allow the value of the Canadian dollar to influence their travel plans the least.

Regional Highlights

British Columbia

• Least likely (37%) to take a winter vacation this year.
• Expect to spend more than the national average per household on vacation: $3,342.70.
• For 53% of BC residents, this is about the same amount as they spent on last year's vacation.
• The value of the Canadian dollar is more likely to deter travel to Europe (22%) than the United States (18%).

Alberta

• Most likely (41%) to take an annual winter vacation just ahead of Quebec (40%).
• Expect to spend more than the national average per household: $3,214.90.
• Least likely to have gone more than two years (28%) without a vacation.
• Consider taking an annual vacation important the most (75%) compared to other provinces.
• Along with Quebec, the most confident they will take a vacation in the next 12 months (71%).

Prairies

• Along with British Columbia, the most likely to spend more than last year (21%) on this year's winter vacation.
• Expect to spend more than the national average per household: $3,359.30.
• Most likely to not consider annual vacations important (37%) compared to other provinces.
• Least confident they will take a vacation in the next 12 months (63%).
• Most likely (26%) to say that comparing the Canadian dollar's value with the Euro would prevent travel.

Ontario

• Expect to spend more than the national average per household: $2,617.90.
• The second least likely (37%) just behind British Columbia (38%) to not have the current value of the Canadian dollar affect possible travel to the United States.
• Also the second least likely (66%) behind British Columbia (69%) to not allow the current value of the Canadian dollar to affect travel plans over the past 12 months.
• The most likely (11%) along with Alberta to change planned travel dates due to the value of the Canadian dollar.

Quebec

• Anticipate spending the least on their winter vacation per household: $1,861.40.
• The most confident (46%) that they will take a winter vacation this year just ahead of Alberta and the Atlantic (45%).
• Second most likely (40%) behind Alberta (41%) to take an annual winter vacation.
• The value of the Canadian dollar is more likely to deter travel to Europe (20%) than the United States (18%).
• The highest percentage (41%) that have not taken a vacation in more than two years.

Atlantic Canada

• Least likely (26%) to take an annual winter vacation.
• The least likely (9%) to spend more than last year on this year's winter vacation.
• Expect to spend near the national average per household: $2,291.90.
• The second highest vacation cancellation rate in the past 12 months (19%) due to the value of the Canadian dollar.

About the Allianz Global Assistance 2016 Canadian Winter Vacation Confidence Survey

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between November 1st and November 3rd, 2016, on behalf of Allianz Global Assistance. For this survey, a sample of 2,000 Canadians from Ipsos' online panel was interviewed online. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within +/- 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadian adults been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

Allianz Global Assistance (Canada)

For more than 50 years, Allianz Global Assistance has supported travelling Canadians when they need it most with value-added travel insurance and assistance services. More than 700 employees support long-term partnerships with some of the best known brands in the travel and financial services markets. The company also serves as an outsource provider for in-bound call centre services and claims administration for health insurers, property and casualty insurers and credit card companies. Allianz Global Assistance is a specialist brand of Allianz Worldwide Partners for assistance and travel insurance, and is the registered business name for AZGA Service Canada Inc. and AZGA Insurance Agency Canada Ltd. For more information, visit www.allianz-assistance.ca.  

Allianz Worldwide Partners

Dedicated to bringing worldwide protection and care, Allianz Worldwide Partners is the B2B2C leader in assistance and insurance solutions in the following areas of expertise: global assistance, international health & life, global automotive and travel insurance. These solutions, which are a unique combination of insurance, service and technology, are available to business partners or via direct and digital channels under three internationally renowned brands: Allianz Global Assistance, Allianz Worldwide Care and Allianz Global Automotive. This global family of over 16,000 employees is present in 75 countries, speaks 70 languages and handles 40 million cases per year*, protecting customers and employees on all continents. For more information, please visit https://www.allianz.com/en/products_solutions/service-assistance/allianz-worldwide-partners/  

*for 2015, excluding Global Automotive

_____________________
¹ A vacation is defined as a leisure trip of at least one week outside of your home province between and including December and March

SOURCE Allianz Global Assistance