Canadians turn domestic for holiday travel, with weak loonie discouraging U.S. trips
CTV
After turning abroad for holiday vacations last year, more Canadians are keeping their travel plans in-country this Christmas season due to squeezed budgets, lower domestic fares and a decisive end to the post-pandemic boom in overseas travel — and now a slumping currency.
Barry Choi has been noticing fewer filled seats on some of his flights over the past year.
“People are travelling a little bit less,” said Choi, who runs the Money We Have personal finance and travel website, which has him on a plane every four to six weeks.
The trend is one he wouldn’t have anticipated two years ago, when the urge to get away was nearly palpable after COVID-19 border closures ended and air travel became possible once more.
“Because of that pent-up demand from the pandemic, people kind of took their trips. In 2022, I feel like everyone was travelling. Everyone was like, ‘I’ve got to get it out.’
“Some people waited until 2023, but this year everyone’s kind of calmed down,” he said.
That pattern looks likely to persist in December and January. After turning abroad for holiday vacations last year, more Canadians are keeping their travel plans in-country this Christmas season due to squeezed budgets, lower domestic fares and a decisive end to the post-pandemic boom in overseas travel — and now a slumping currency.
The number of Canadian flights bound for the United States this December is slated to fall 2.5 per cent year-over-year, according to figures from aviation tracking firm Cirium.
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