Planning An Escape

MasterCard recently commissioned a survey that explores the travel plans of Canadian and Americans as well as to take a look at the continuing role that technology plays in destination choices.

Along with a nifty, and informative video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htuZu8tMLKQ&feature=youtu.be – featuring MasterCard’s vice-president of mobile payments, Nick Dinh, highlights of the survey include:

• Planning Your Escape: Nearly a quarter (23%) of Canadians say they will be travelling this March Break/Spring Break. Ten per cent say they will be travelling within Canada and nearly as many (9%) will be heading to the United States. British Columbians are the most likely to be spending March Break/Spring Break travelling within Canada (14%) and to the U.S. (13%).
• Sunshine and Sand: In terms of travel experiences, sunshine and relaxation edged out adventure and exploration as the top travel experience Canadians are seeking in 2015. Nearly a third of Canadians (31%) said they wanted a beach vacation this year, 26% said they were looking for outdoor adventures, and 24% said they are looking to explore new cities in 2015.
• Paying to Stay (and Play): More than a third of Canadians (35%) plan to spend over $2,000 on travel this year. Compared to Americans, Canadians spend less on restaurants and bars (15% compared to 23%) and more on accommodations (34% compared to 27%) when they travel.
• The Perfect Vacation: Memories made with travel companions was the biggest factor (86%) in making a vacation experience priceless. Spending time with family was the most popular motivator for leisure travel among Canadians (32%).

The MasterCard survey also took a look at which cities were most popular with Americans and Canadians and discovered:

• Canadian’s think of New York as more cosmopolitan than American’s perception of this city (56% vs. 28%).
• More Canadians than Americans associated Toronto with being cosmopolitan (42% vs. 28%) and diverse (47% vs. 31%).
• Yet Canadians were also more likely to think of Toronto as boring (14% vs. 4%).
• When it comes to Miami, Canadians were more likely to associate the city with snowbirds (39% vs. 24%).
• Out of a choice of six cities (New York, Toronto, Miami, Honolulu, LA, Las Vegas) both Americans and Canadians selected Honolulu as their first choice.
• Canadian’s were more likely to choose New York in their top three (56% vs. 45%).
• American’s were more likely to choose Toronto in their top three (37% vs. 26%).

The MasterCard North America Spring Travel Snapshot was conducted in Canada from Jan. 28 to Jan.29, 2015, surveying 1,516 randomly selected Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panelists. The margin of error – which measures sampling variability – is +/- 2.5%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according to education, age, gender and region (and in Quebec, language) Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of Canada. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.