WATCH: BC and Alberta top the list of summer vacation spending. Grace Ke reports.
VANCOUVER – An active lifestyle could result in higher spending habits during the summer for British Columbians.
According to the 2015 Summer Spending survey by Bank of Montreal (BMO), Canadians plan to spend an average of $5,605 during this summer.
When it comes to who spends the most by province, Alberta tops the list at $6,298 – but B.C comes in second at $6,150.
James Kitamura at BMO thinks high summer expenses are a result of the west coast lifestyle involving a lot of outdoor activities.
“It just lends itself to us getting out more and spending more,” he said.
Vacations are also a major contributor to summer spending, especially for travelling families.
Even with a free trip for her 21-month-old baby, Hiromi Hayashi admits that a trip to Disneyland with her husband and two children would be very expensive – with over $40,000 for just flight and hotel expenses.
The survey finds that vacations and weekend trips are at the top of the spending list, followed by social outings, entertaining friends, summer activities, home and garden improvements, seasonal consumer goods and big purchases.
While there are many ways to travel without going into debt, the survey also found most Canadians are likely to book this year’s summer vacation by using a credit card.
Only 27 per cent of all Canadians said they do not depend on credit cards for any of their summer spending.
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