This text is taken from Courrier de l’économie. Click here to subscribe.
The Transat Tourism Chair of the University of Quebec in Montreal asked, at the end of the fall, the 70% of Quebecers who had slept away from their bed at least one night during a trip accreditation in the past two years if they were planning to re-offend this year. In total, 1,007 Quebec travelers were surveyed from November 21 to 25, 2022. Nine out of ten confirmed that this was their intention, but that, this time, some of them would take the opportunity to go a little further.
Quebec will remain the most popular destination in 2023 with 72% of travellers, particularly in the summer, if previous years are to be believed. Slightly less than a quarter (23%) also planned to visit neighboring Ontario or New Brunswick and one in seven (14%) even further afield in Canada. Remarkably, the proportion of travelers planning a trip abroad was up compared to last year, both to the United States (from 19% to 25%) and to Europe (from 13 % to 15%) or elsewhere in the world (20% instead of 16%).
On the international travel side, we will obviously benefit from the lifting of most of the health restrictions that were linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. Quebec travelers should be particularly numerous in the coming weeks to head for sun destinations, more than a quarter of them (27% against 16% last year) having already reserved their places in the South in November ( 14%) or planning to do so (13%). If we trust their habits, says the Chair in Tourism, we will find them in large numbers in Florida, Mexico and Cuba.
Theft abroad and theft from home
Many of them have probably already started talking about it on social media, Allstate Insurance Company reported this week based on another poll last month. Indeed, nearly a third (31%) of Canadians who say they are active there post content about their vacation plans online before or during their trip. This proportion climbs to almost half among 18-34 year olds (46%) or those who plan to go on vacation during spring break (45%).
“Posting your vacation details also publicly announces that your residence is empty and, in some cases, for how long. This can increase the risk of a burglary while you are away,” said the insurance company. But, to choose from, about half (46%) of travelers who publish information about their vacation before or during their absence say that they still give priority to this sharing on social networks rather than to the protection of their residence. .