Courting the Canadian Traveler
December 7, 2017 | By: Robyn Domber
Capturing the Canadian Consumer: Insights Into the Path to Purchase for Canadian Travelers
At a time when international visits from nearly every other country is down, Canada is emerging as an alluring target.
As reported by the U.S. Department of Commerce National Travel and Tourism Office, Canada was the only country reporting more visitors to the U.S in the first six months of 2017 (up by 5 percent over 2016). Simultaneously, according to the 2017 WealthScapes report from Environics Analytics, the national household net worth of Canadians rose 12 per cent over last year to $770,635 CAD.
Given this confluence of positive trends in Canada, now is the opportune time for destinations to try and increase their share of visitors from this lucrative market. While travel has always been a priority for Canadian citizens, given current conditions it’s safe to assume Canadians will continue to spend more money and time on outbound international travel experiences.
Understanding when, where, how and why this target market travels is the first step towards developing the right messaging and marketing campaigns to ensure your destination stands out in a crowded Canadian marketplace.
To assist destinations looking to court the Canadian traveler, Development Counsellors International recently conducted a comprehensive survey of 1,505 Canadian residents on their travel preferences, habits and motivations.
Along with specific data sets on how Canadian travelers differ by income levels (especially affluent Canadians), age and residence of province, other insights were also uncovered. Some of the major findings are as follows:
1) Despite conventional beliefs, not all Canadians are traveling to escape the cold and snow during the winter months.
2) Travel planning and booking depends largely on how a destination is reached – (e.g. short or long-haul flights, or by car).
3) Regardless of age, income levels or province of residence, there are similar motivations among all respondents when traveling internationally.
How well is your region or destination marketing itself to the Canadian market? Tweet us at @aboutdci.com.
For more information on purchasing DCI’s recently released report, Capturing the Canadian Consumer: Insights into the Path to Purchase for Canadian Travelers, click here.
