The sub-zero temperatures may have some people wishing they could escape somewhere a bit warmer, but according to a recent poll that may not be the case.
A recent Ipsos poll shows that 59 per cent of Canadians don’t know if they’ll take a vacation this winter. Of that, only 54 per cent have vacationed in the past year and 33 per cent say it’s been at least two years since their last vacation.
Linda Osborne and her family are headed to Hawaii and while escaping the bitter chill of winter isn’t new, this year it’s taken on a different meaning.
“We wanted to take my mom, who would have turned 80 tomorrow, to the big island for her big birthday, but she passed away last August and so we decided as a family we’d like to go and celebrate her life,” Osborne said.
But for others a trip may not be in the forecast this year.
“It’s been a little bit down compared to some years,” Shannan Schill, office manager at CAA Travel Agency in Regina, said.
“It’s steadily starting to pick up and people are starting to book their winter vacations a little bit later.”
Schill says natural disasters like hurricanes are a factor, but for others cost is the biggest deterrent.
“Your buying Christmas presents, your buying trees and it plays a factor for sure,” said one Regina resident.
The poll has one contradiction, fewer people may vacation this winter, but 71 per cent of those asked believe it’s important to get away.
Four in ten Canadians who do think they’ll take a vacation say they expect to spend around an average of $2,673 on the trip.
“Cuba is a little bit less than some of the other destinations because the flight times aren’t as ideal, they leave at night and you get there in the middle of the night.”
Schill adds avoid booking December and February getaways; you can save money since those are the busiest months.