Canadians eye trips to U.K. after Brexit vote

Interest spikes as pound sinks against loonie

• Travel companies say more Canadians are looking at vacations in the United Kingdom because of the dropping British pound in the wake of the referendum vote to leave the European Union.

Melisse Hinkle of Cheapflights.ca said that on the weekend after the June 23 vote the travel website experienced a 50 per cent spike in searches for flights from Canada to the U.K., and interest has been strong since.

“Savvy travellers have realized that, while the longterm impact of the Brexit means big changes for travel to and within Europe, there is an immediate opportunity for more affordable travel,” she said.

Hinkle attributed the spike in interest to the drop in the pound’s value against the loonie, making everything from London flights to West End theatre tickets cheaper for Canadians.

Cheapflights.ca said in a blog post that average airfares on flights to London from Canada in August were already cheaper by about 11 per cent compared with last August.

That’s consistent with a recent report from Montrealbased tour operator Transat AT, which said added service to London by Air Canada and WestJet Airlines had forced it to lower its prices to sell seats.

The blog warned that Britain might be more crowded this summer: searches for flights from the U.S. to the U.K. doubled in the days after the vote while those from China jumped 61 per cent and searches from EU countries went up more than 30 per cent. It said U.K. citizens were also more likely to vacation close to home.

The British pound fell to three-decade lows after the referendum, though it has since regained some ground.

Senior economist Royce Mendes of CIBC said he expects the pound to drop to $1.70 over the next three months because of political uncertainty.

Before the Brexit vote, CIBC had forecast the pound’s value would rise to $2.02 by Sept. 30.

“We’re looking at Q3 (the third quarter) to be the strongest point and after that the Canadian dollar will start to depreciate against sterling,” he said.

Spokeswoman Allison Wallace of Flight Centre Travel Group agreed that interest in U.K. is up but said bookings aren’t likely to follow.

“This is largely due to the fact that we’re already into high season for travelling to Europe so availability is low, keeping prices high,” she said. “If we see an effect, it will be much more significant going into next summer.”

WestJet’s new flights to London’s Gatwick Airport began in May and have been very popular, spokeswoman Lauren Stewart said. She said it’s too early to say whether demand for the flights has increased.