Inflation and COVID-19 are keeping Canadians away from holiday travel, poll suggests – National

High inflation and COVID-19 have dampened some Canadians’ desire to travel as the holiday season approaches, according to a new poll.

Today, 77% of the 1,001 Canadians surveyed exclusively for Global News by Ipsos in October said they would be comfortable traveling within Canada on vacation, and 55% said the same would apply to international travel. increase.

For those who feel anxious about traveling, 65% said high hotel and flight prices are holding them back, and 61% said they were afraid of contracting COVID-19 or They say they feel uneasy about doing so. travel restrictions.

The Ipsos survey comes at a time when officials fear a possible recession during the winter, when respiratory diseases such as COVID-19 and influenza are expected to spread more widely.

As a result, some Canadians are lowering their travel expectations during the historically busy holiday season, said Sean Simpson, Senior Vice President, Ipsos Public Affairs Canada.

“All of this in balance has many Canadians saying it might not be worth it,” he told Global News.

“Some people think that if they can save money, stay healthy, have less headaches, and avoid some parts of international travel, that’s the way to go.”

The Ipsos poll, conducted Oct. 18-20, comes at a time when Ottawa is warning of a slowdown in the global economy next year, with inflation soaring to just 6.9% in September. But Canada is poised to weather whatever this winter throws at it, despite being set for “significantly weaker growth,” according to the government’s fall economic statement released last Thursday. .

Meanwhile, COVID-19 continues to circulate. Health Canada has approved a number of bivalent vaccines designed to reduce the effects of contagious subspecies of Omicron. We monitor over 300 omicron subspecies as we enter winter, the prevalent season.

An Ipsos survey found that 48% of respondents said they were wary of airport problems such as lost luggage throughout the summer, and 30% said airlines guaranteed available seats or specific flights. I also found that I felt uncomfortable not doing it. Additionally, 31% of Canadians are uncomfortable with political instability in their country, and 21% fear unrealistic and unnecessary health regulations.

“Canadian people say that if I’m going to cut out some of the luxuries…in my life, it might be one of the first things I go to,” Simpson said.

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“Many people say Canadians are becoming more financially cautious and as a result they don’t travel abroad.”

The Canadian travel industry, which was hit after the pandemic began in 2020, struggled to restart after Canadians flooded airports when travel restrictions were eased earlier this year. Long lines, delayed flights, and lost luggage plagued the industry.

However, the travel industry may see a decline in demand for trips booked this holiday season as inflation is not easily eliminated, said Kiefer van Mulligen, economist at the Canadian Congress Commission.

Canadians no longer have the “same kind of discretionary spending firepower” they may have had earlier this year and will reevaluate their priorities, he said.

“Even if they do decide to travel, the number of places they visit and the amount of money they spend on travel probably won’t matter as much as in the past. This is important for the recovery of the tourism industry,” said Van Mulligen. .

“If people weren’t spending so much money, it would gradually return to pre-pandemic levels. That would definitely slow the pace of recovery.”

Air Canada, the country’s largest airline, told Global News in a statement that it is seeing “very strong” demand for leisure and tropical travel this winter, above 2019 levels. sales also performed well in the company’s third quarter, a spokeswoman said in an email.

“Remember, flights to Mexico and the Caribbean were suspended for the first six months of 2021, and travel restrictions continued into the following winter. I am,” they said.

Demand for this holiday season is likely to be higher than in 2021 and 2020, Simpson said.

He points to an Ipsos survey that found that young Canadians are more comfortable traveling abroad than older generations, with 68% of respondents aged 18-34 saying they would travel abroad, compared with 55%. compared to 43% of Canadians over the age of

“We expect travel to rebound compared to last year,[but]probably still weaker than in 2019,” Simpson said.

“But we are going to see more young people boarding planes this holiday season. Those who will be traveling abroad this winter.”

These are some of the results of an Ipsos poll conducted October 18-20 on behalf of Global News. For this study, a sample of 1,001 Canadians aged 18 and over were interviewed. Allocations and weightings were employed to ensure that the composition of the sample reflected the composition of the Canadian population according to census parameters. Accuracy of Ipsos online surveys is measured using confidence intervals. In this case, if all Canadians over the age of 18 were surveyed, the survey would be within ±3.5 percentage points (19 out of 20) of accuracy. Confidence intervals are widened across subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls are subject to other errors, including but not limited to coverage errors and measurement errors.

— Using files from Craig Lord of Global News