HOLIDAY HABITS
Sussing out a pattern
Vancouverites and Calgarians crave the aloha spirit of Hawaii. Torontonians love New Delhi and London. And Montrealers can’t get enough of Paris.
A new study by Kayak.com shows Canadians across the country have rather divergent tastes when it comes to travel, with folks in western provinces flocking to Hawaii and easterners heading to Florida, Europe and Asia.
The study also shows that the weak Canadian dollar is having an effect. Travellers from Canada are heading overseas in large numbers, but the strong U.S. dollar has seen south-of-the-border travel drop by 30 per cent, Kayak officials said.
They also noted that Canadians will take an average of 10 vaca- tion days between Dec. 1 and Jan. 9, three days more than travellers in the U.S. and the UK.
But it’s the diversity of travel destinations that might be the most interesting part of the study.
Vancouver travellers have made Honolulu their top destination the last three years, and it looks like the Hawaiian city will complete a four-year sweep, officials said. Other Vancouver faves include Bangkok, Los Angeles, London, Hong Kong, Dubai and Toronto.
The Kayak study shows Toronto residents love to travel the world and that New Delhi is giving London and Hong Kong a run for their money in terms of most popular destination. Torontonians also love Miami, Vancouver, Costa Rica, Honolulu and Paris.
Montrealers, on the other hand, adore trips to Paris and Fort Lauderdale, as well as Miami, Orlando, Los Angeles, Bangkok and Cancún.
Calgarians also love Honolulu. Other cities on the top list for Calgary travel types are Cancún, Bangkok, Manila, Maui, London, Phoenix, Orlando and Tokyo.
Up the road in Edmonton, folks have Toronto at the top of their holiday destination list. They also like Manila, Halifax, London, Honolulu, Maui and Los Angeles.
Folks in Winnipeg are looking for winter trips to Manila, Phoenix, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Bangkok and other warm-weather destinations.
Travellers in Ottawa prefer Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Orlando, Cancún, Hawaii, Tampa, Vancouver, Paris and Bangkok.
Overall, Kayak officials said London is the No. 1 holiday destination for Canadians this year, with Fort Lauderdale coming in second.