Playoff runs. Royal visits. All-Star Games. Trudeau-mania. In 2016, celebrity news and pivotal cultural moments didn’t only impact Canadians’ newsfeeds but their travel plans as well. We combed through our data to find 2016’s top travel trends and destinations specifically for Canadians. And let’s just say, Canadians made a grand “Brentrance” this year.
In 2016, Canadians could be found:
1. Getting down with the royal crowd.
The Royal Family paid their former territory a visit this year. Canadians returned the favour by making London the #1 most popular travel spot for 2016 (stealing the crown from last year’s winner, Las Vegas).
2. Using those vacation days.
Nail-biting playoff runs with Canada’s top teams may have not only sprouted extra grey hairs for Canadians, but also may have contributed to the need for a few extra vacation days. Those north of the border took an average of 12 days in 2016 while travelers from the US only took 8 days.
3. Putting down the glitz.
Las Vegas seems to have lost its lustre with Canadian travelers. This once top destination fell to #5 on the list of cities Canadians most wanted to visit. Perhaps in an attempt to pander to their northern neighbors, only time will tell if Sin City’s move to establish a hockey team in 2017 will help them reclaim ground.
4. The real MVP.
When we looked at individual metropolitan areas in Canada (versus an overall approach) a few interesting trends emerged. For one, Toronto topped the charts as the #1 or #2 destination for most major cities throughout Canada.
- Ottawa:
Ottawa was the only Canadian city that included Halifax among its top-searched cities. The #1 spot, however, went to Vancouver as the most popular destination. - Montreal:
At this point in the year, it’s no surprise that Paris was, once again, the top destination for the Montréalais. Nine out of ten top destinations were for international locales with Vancouver being the only top-ranking domestic destination. - Halifax:
Apparently, the feeling is mutual. Halifax checked “yes” to Ottawa’s “Do you like me” note. It was the only Canadian city that selected the country’s capital as one of its top destinations. - Calgary:
Calgarians were California dreamin’ this year. Los Angeles and San Francisco both ranked within the top 10 of most-searched destinations. However, the top spots kept it local: Toronto and Vancouver came in at #1 and #2, respectively. - Winnipeg:
With four Canadian destinations in their top 10, people from Winnipeg love to explore the sights and sounds of the country’s brightest lights. This includes Toronto (#1), Vancouver (#2), Calgary (#5) and Montreal (#10). - Saskatoon:
Compared with other Canadian cities, Saskatooners were more attracted to the glitz and glamour of Vegas than their counterparts. Sin City took the #2 spot on their most-searched list. - Vancouver:
Residents in the ‘Couv are spreading their wings and flying all over the globe. Popular destinations included Seoul, Tokyo and Honolulu, making travelers in Vancouver cover more miles than their sister cities.
One thing’s certain about 2016, it marked a solid year for Canadian travelers. If you feel that your travel aspirations fell short this year, there’s always time for redemption in 2017. Jump start your travel planning by searching hundreds of sites at once on KAYAK for flights, hotels and rental cars.
Methodology: We looked at flight searches with search dates 10/01/2015 – 11/08/2016 and travel dates 01/01/2015 – 11/08/2016 for each corresponding year.
