Economic worries push more Canadians toward staycations this summer

A growing share of Canadians are tightening their belts when it comes to summer travel, with economic pressures driving more households toward budget-conscious getaways rather than international trips.

New polling released in July from Nanos Research, commissioned by CTV News, shows 43% of Canadians expect to spend less on their summer vacation than they typically would. That figure has climbed steadily, up from 38% in 2023 and 31% back in 2015, pointing to a sustained pullback in discretionary travel spending rather than a one-off dip.

Roughly four in ten respondents, 41%, said they plan to spend about the same as usual on their summer break, while 12% expect to spend more this year. A small share, 4%, remain unsure of their plans.

Residents of the Prairies were most likely to say they are scaling back spending, at nearly 50%, while Atlantic Canadians were the least likely to cut back, at just under 39%. Younger adults aged 18 to 34 were also more inclined to trim vacation budgets than those 55 and older, at 49% versus 36% respectively.

Vacation days largely unchanged

Time off work looks set to follow a similar pattern to previous years. Almost half of respondents, 45%, said they plan to take roughly the same number of vacation days as last summer, while 17% expect to take less time off and 11% plan to take more.

Younger workers were more likely to scale back time away from the job, with 27% of those aged 18 to 34 planning fewer vacation days compared with just 10% of those 55 and older.

Just under 17% of Canadians said they have international travel plans this summer that remain unchanged, a figure broadly consistent with results from 2023 and 2022. Meanwhile, 57% said they have no interest in international travel at all this summer, and a further 18% said they would like to travel abroad but currently have no concrete plans in place.

A small proportion, 5%, said they had international travel booked but have since cancelled those plans, while 1% said they still might cancel.

Older Canadians were far less inclined toward international travel, with 67% of those 55 and older saying they have no interest in going abroad this summer, compared with 46% of those aged 18 to 34. Younger respondents were nearly three times as likely to say they want to travel internationally but have not yet made plans.

Local and community activity looks set to hold roughly steady as well. Just over half of respondents, 52%, expect to take part in about the same number of local events as last summer, while 19% plan to attend more and 17% expect to attend fewer.