TORONTO, ONTARIO — (Marketwire) — 09/17/12 — Despite fluctuating consumer confidence through 2012, the strong Canadian dollar and relatively stable economy are fuelling Canadians- desire to travel outside the country.
Today, BMO released a study indicating 54 per cent of Canadians plan to travel this fall. Of those, almost a third (29 per cent) will be headed out of country.
Increased outbound travel by Canadians has been a growing trend over the past few years. At the end of June, outbound travel, since January 2012, had increased 5.2 per cent over the same period last year, reaching almost 16 million overnight trips. Almost two thirds of all outbound trips are to the United States; in fact, stateside travel increased 8.9 per cent in June.
According to BMO Economics, the high June travel numbers to the United States, in part, reflected pent up demand, as Canadians awaited the higher duty-free limits introduced at the beginning of the month. However, this increase is also part of a protracted trend that began several years ago. More than 30 million Canadian outbound trips were made in 2011, which reflects an increase of 5.1 per cent from the previous year.
Canada has also experienced slight but steady increases in inbound travel since the lows of 2008-2009, but the number of visits and tourism dollars being spent in the country are not enough to offset Canada-s growing international travel account deficit – payments by Canadian travellers abroad vs. receipts from foreign travellers in Canada — which reached $16.25 billion at the end of 2011.
“Tourism generated about $31 billion for the Canadian economy in 2011, or nearly 2 per cent of GDP, and about 4 per cent of the labour market has a direct link to the tourism industry,” said Robert Kavcic, Economist, BMO Capital Markets. “If the growing trend in outbound travel continues, it will certainly put pressure on Canada-s domestic tourism industry.”
BMO-s 2012 Fall Travel Survey indicated:
“Although a growing number of Canadians have been bitten by the international travel bug, they haven-t lost their focus on affordability,” said Su McVey, Vice President, BMO Bank of Montreal. “We continue to see savvy loyalty rewards collectors use their rewards to upgrade their travel experience or substantially offset their travel costs, especially through non-traditional features such as travel medical insurance; trip interruption and trip cancellation insurance; rental car damage waiver insurance; and through free access to VIP airport lounges; all of which help reduce the cost and worry of out-of-country travel.”
BMO 2012 Fall Travel Survey: Top U.S. and International Destinations
Regional breakdowns available upon request.
BMO-s 2012 Fall Travel Survey was conducted from August 13-15, 2012, by Leger Marketing. The sample was 1524 Canadians, 18 years or older. The margin of error is 2.5 per cent.
About BMO Financial Group
Established in 1817 as Bank of Montreal, BMO Financial Group is a highly diversified North American financial services organization. With total assets of $542 billion as at July 31, 2012, and more than 46,000 employees, BMO Financial Group provides a broad range of retail banking, wealth management and investment banking products and solutions.
BACKGROUNDER
Travel Tips
It-s a good idea to take a mix of local currency, a debit card and a credit card with you when you travel out of country to ensure you can pay for purchases and services in the manner preferred or prescribed by the local merchants. Each has their own advantages:
Credit Cards
Debit cards
Foreign exchange notes (cash)
Get More Out of Your Travel Dollars by Getting More Out of Your Travel Rewards Program
Loyalty programs are the number-one determinant behind consumers- choice of a credit card. Here are a few tips to help collectors stretch their vacation travel dollars and get there sooner.
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