RURAL ROUTES: Airbnb chief says Canadians choosing country vacations

Cheticamp, Nova Sotia

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky says Canada’s tourism market is proving slow to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic, but that hasn’t stopped people from travelling within the country. The head of the vacation home rental giant says Canadians are visiting rural locations unused to large numbers of visitors rather than vacationing overseas.

Chesky says those willing to travel right now tend to be older and already vaccinated, but he expects more people to act on their wanderlust as they get jabbed later in the year.

Airbnb noticed a recent uptick in people searching for spring and summer rentals in Nova Scotia’s Queens Municipality, Cheticamp and West Hants, New Brunswick’s Caledonia Mountain and Newfoundland’s Dunville.

Also trending are the Naramata, Telegraph Cove and Okanagan Falls regions of British Columbia and Louisville in Quebec.

Chesky’s remarks were made in a media roundtable and came at the same time as Canada was facing calls for stricter border closures, implementing bans on flights from India and Pakistan and issuing new orders limiting some inter-provincial travel.