Jun 6, 2017
Pattie Lovett-Reid: Why Canadians are travelling closer to home
Canadians just might decide to spend their vacation dollars closer to home this year.
Three horrific terrorist attacks in less than three months could result in a travel slump as people worry about their safety. Research firm Euromonitor estimates that 285,000 people could stay away and the demand will only fully recover by 2020. Travellers may love the U.K. but are likely more hesitant to go.
London is the third-most popular city for tourists in the world, welcoming about 19 million travellers a year. And of course tourism has been booming due to the weaker pound. But fear is mounting and that could damage the U.K.’s brand at least temporarily.
This isn’t the first time we have seen this sort of thing – after the Paris attack in November 2015 – internationals arrivals dropped 12 per cent over the three to four months following the deadly attack and things still have yet to fully recover.
Of course there are reassuring signs things are under control and that may help a little yet European travel stocks are down and shares in British Airways off marginally.
When it comes to the U.S., after Donald Trump was elected, many Canadian travellers stated they were more likely to vacation closer to home. According to Travel Life Magazine, several polls after the American election found 45 per cent of Canadians say they're less likely to visit the U.S.
Given that Canada is celebrating its 150th birthday, the dollar is low and the concerns high there are many good reason to have a staycation this year. It is reasonable to expect more and more Canadians to vacation this year in their own backyard.
