Excitement amongst Canadians to begin travelling again is up significantly, according to a new Flight Centre survey – and so much so that consumers are not waiting until the very last minute to book their trips, despite frequent changes and varying travel restrictions worldwide.
Flight Centre Travel Group conducted its survey of close to 2,000 people in June and noted a distinct shift in positive sentiment about travelling versus a similar survey conducted in November.
Among the key findings of the survey were that rising consumer confidence in travelling safely is directly correlated to the successful rollout of vaccines, and that the vast majority of customers are definitely planning to travel in 2022.
Flight Centre also noted that about a third of travellers are booking three to five months in advance of their departure “suggesting that concerns regarding sudden cancellations or changes is no longer a substantial deterrent.”
Other findings:
• When asked how people are “feeling” right now about travel, those that are “excited” has seen a 254% increase since November 2020, in which only 13% of people at that time provided that response. Correspondingly, those “worried” about travel saw a reduction from 47% in November to just 14.6% last month.
• 67.2% of those surveyed said that the progress of Canada’s vaccination program has made them more confident to travel. Given the survey was completed when only 10% to 15% of Canadians were fully vaccinated, consumer confidence is expected to grow as the vaccination program continues progress.
• 79% of respondents say they will “definitely” or “probably” travel to countries accepting fully vaccinated travellers in the next 12 months.
• 38% are planning to travel in the next 1-3 months, a sharp increase from the November 2020 survey results in which just 16% of respondents felt the same.
• Overall, 85% of customers expect to travel equal or more than they did in 2019 (i.e. pre-COVID)
• In terms of which destinations people plan to travel to first internationally, 68% of respondents are planning to go to Mexico and the Caribbean with the Mayan Riviera, Puerto Vallarta, Dominican Republic, and Jamaica seeing the most demand within the region. 42% are planning to go to Europe.
• From a product standpoint, the return of cruise travel is definitive, though not in short-term bookings. Specifically, May to September 2022 encompasses the largest share of future cruise bookings.
Michelle Suggett, VP of Retail Operations for Flight Centre Travel Group (Canada), says she doesn’t find the results surprizing given what the agents on the ground are currently experiencing.
“There has been significant demand in inquiry and bookings as more and more people get vaccinated,” she observes. “That, combined with more than a year and a half of restrictions and border closures, is now translating into bookings as consumer confidence lifts.”