Are You Getting a Break This Holiday Season?
Published December 22, 2017 at 1:30 pm
Canadians need a break but the majority say they don’t think they’ll get one, a new poll finds.
Roughly 59 per cent of Canadians aren’t confident they’ll be able to take a winter vacation this year, despite 71 per cent of Canadians seeing the need for an annual vacation as important, the second annual Canadian Winter Vacation Confidence Index by Allianz Global Assistance shows.
Conducted by Ipsos, the poll finds only 54 per cent of Canadians had a vacation at some point within the past year, with 33 per cent say they haven’t had a vacation in more than two years.
“It’s clear from the Index that Canadians want and need a vacation but they are not taking all they are entitled to,” said Allianz’s senior director of market management Dan Keon.
“According to the Index results, Canadians get 21 paid vacation days per year on average but are only taking 17. There could be many reasons for this but maybe some Canadians are still struggling with that work-life balance.”
Gen-Xers are more likely (40 per cent) than Millennials (25 per cent) or Boomers (32 per cent) to have skipped taking an annual vacation for two or more years.
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“Cost also appears to be an issue as the Index found that, when we do travel, Canadians prefer to do so in off-peak times,” said Keon.
Approximately 43 per cent reported travelling in off-peak times, citing the desire to keep costs down, while another 34 per cent said they travel in off-peak periods to avoid crowds.
Of those who said they do travel during peak periods, only 12 per cent said they do so out of personal preference, while 10 per cent said they can only get time off during peak times.
While six in ten Canadians don’t anticipate taking a winter vacation, four in ten (41 per cent) are confident they will take a trip between December and March. Confidence is highest in households with children, where half expect to take a winter vacation (52 per cent).
Of those who will be travelling, they expect to spend an average of $2,673 on their vacation. That’s about the same as they reported spending last year – just $80 more, or an increase of three per cent.
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