With the easing of restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic over the past several months, the majority of Canadians are gearing up for a holiday, according to a new survey.
A “Road Trip” survey conducted by Ipsos for Toyota Canada reported that 77 percent of Canadians are ready or likely to travel outside their municipality, as 43 percent are ready to leave their home province. And 24 percent are ready to travel abroad.
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It also found that 33 percent of Canadians with access to a vehicle are willing to drive for at least seven hours as part of a road trip, while 31 percent are willing to sit in their cars for at least four hours.
“Over the years, many Canadians have told us that spending time in nature was a primary goal of their summer road trips,” said Stephen Beatty, vice president of corporate at Toyota Canada.
“In contrast, this year there is a lot of buzz in the air as people are excited to take road trips to reconnect with their wider circle of family and friends, and once again at large scale events such as concerts, festivals and sporting events. But looking forward to enjoying the summer shows.”
Reasons why respondents were looking to hit the road included hitting family or friends (56 percent), overnight stays (52 percent), the beach (34 percent) or a national or provincial park (31 percent).
The survey also found that more than 39 percent of Canadians want to use more vacation time this summer than in 2021.
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The survey, which spoke to 2,000 people across the country in March, found that about 53 percent of Canadians’ summer travel plans would be affected by rising gas prices.
It noted that there was growing interest in hybrid or electric vehicles as 54 percent of respondents said they would feel better about going off the road in these types of vehicles.
In BC, 12 percent of those who answered say they plan to drive anywhere from 11 to 24 hours to reach their vacation destination, while 49 percent of Atlantic Canadians take a road trip to their home province. will leave for
Meanwhile, 40 percent of people living in the Prairies will take out their tents and trailers to go camping this summer.
In Ontario, 28 percent of respondents say they would move out of Canada for a vacation.
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