Quebecers Plan to Stay Local This Summer

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Residents of Quebec are planning to hit the road this summer, according to a survey by CAA-Quebec, but respondents say they won’t be travelling far from home.

"Travellers are sensitive to the low value of the dollar, and they're adjusting their habits accordingly," said Angelina Miconiatis, CAA-Quebec's senior director, Travel Products. "During our survey period, the Canadian currency was worth around 79 cents US, whereas it was at 82 cents in 2015 and 92 cents in 2014. There's a significant impact on people's wallets, so it's easy to see why some people are leaning more toward local destinations. People have plenty of alternatives when it comes to summer vacation destinations, so they're making other choices."

In total, 58 per cent of respondents say they plan to summer in Quebec, a number that is about the same as with last year’s survey. When asked to rank their preferred travel destinations, respondents favoured the Capitale-Nationale, Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, Montreal and Gaspésie–îles-de-la-Madeleine regions.

Fueling the popularity in local travel are the lower gasoline prices which are compelling more people to incorporate some form or road trip into their vacation plans. A whopping 71 per cent of vacationers plan to drive to their destination, a slight increase over last year’s response of 68 per cent. A considerably lower number of respondents, however, plan to have their vehicles inspected before hitting the road.

"Few people realize that in the intense summer heat, car batteries drain and are damaged an average of 33 per cent faster,” said CAA-Quebec automotive expert Jesse Caron. “Also, a check of your vehicle's fluid levels, especially coolant, can prevent plenty of headaches."

Some 13 per cent of Quebecers said they will travel beyond provincial boundaries, but remain within Canada. Favoured provinces include Ontario (overwhelmingly), New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. CAA-Quebec says this ranking is in line with the requests for TripTik route maps being the association received from this year.

Interest in visiting the United States continues to decline, with only 10 per cent of respondents expressing an interest in crossing the border, a number that has plummeted 10 percentage points from last year’s response of 21 per cent.

Interestingly, 13 per cent of Quebecers say they plan to travel outside of the province without travel insurance. Millennials are particularly likely (24 per cent) to avoid travel insurance.

"A majority of the people who won't be taking out travel medical insurance (65 per cent) say they will be visiting another province, but they seem to be forgetting that once you cross the border, you're no longer covered," Suzanne Michaud, CAA-Quebec's vice president, insurance, warned. "In Ontario, emergency medical care for sunstroke can cost you $700. In the U.S., meanwhile, the bill for a hospital stay can sometimes be in the tens of thousands of dollars."

As residents plan to cut back on where they travel, they also seem to be cutting back on how much vacation they plan to take.

More than one-third (35 per cent) plan to take a one week break from work, a number that has increased by 6 points compared to last year. Another 31 per cent of Quebecers will take a two-week vacation, down from 38 per cent last year.

Millennials, on the other hand, plan to take full advantage of the summer holiday. Some 23 per cent of respondents between 18 and 24 say plan to a month-long break, or more, this summer.

Nearly half (46 per cent) of all respondents say they plan to spend less than $1,000 on their summer vacation.

The survey was conducted online for CAA-Quebec between April 22 and 28, 2016, by Leger – The Research Intelligence Group, which polled 1,000 Quebecers. A similar-size random-sample survey of Quebecers has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 per cent.

To view the complete survey results, visit www.caaquebec.com/index.php?id=7294&L=1

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