Chapter 8: A Look at Canada

Canadians took advantage of the relatively stable Canadian economy when compared to other global economies to secure some good deals on travel in 2010. In fact, Canadian travelers cut their average hotel room spend in almost every region in the last half of 2010, compared with the amounts they spent in the same period last year.

	What Canadians Spent on hotel rooms in Q3-Q4 2010 by Region Region 2009 2010 YoY ADR ASIA $141 $134 -5% Carribean $209 $215 +3% EUROPE $173 $160 -8% LATAM $155 $147 -5% North America $139 $136 -2% Rest of the World $142 $142 0% OVERALL $144 $139 -3%

Some of the best deals for Canadians travelling internationally were found in countries whose economies suffered more. For instance, Canadians travelling to Ireland paid an average of 19% less than they did a year earlier for hotel rooms (CAD$112.22 on average).  Other major savings were had in destinations such as Morocco, down 25% (CAD$109.70) India, down 18% (CAD$116.71) and United Arab Emirates, down 15% (CAD$154.65).  Overall, Canadians paid 6% less for rooms in the United States (CAD$135.93).  Lower prices offered by many U.S. destinations, coupled with the strength of the Canadian dollar which hovered near parity with the U.S. currency, resulted in good deals for Canadians south of the border. 

	Prices Paid for International Travel Country 2009 2010 YoY ADR Argentina $129 $139 +7% Australia $138 $144 +4% Austria $154 $141 -9% Belgium $154 $139 -10% Brazil $186 $199 +7% China $117 $127 +8% Croatia $182 $186 +2% Czech Republic $127 $120 -6% Denmark $203 $174 -14% Egypt $164 $138 -16% Finland $157 $150 -4% France $185 $174 -6% Germany $154 $150 -2% Greece $170 $151 -11% Hungary $146 $115 -21% Iceland $152 $130 -14% India $142 $117 -18% Indonesia $117 $148 +26% Ireland $139 $112 -19% Israel $201 $189 -6% Italy $190 $174 -9% Japan $170 $145 -14% Malaysia $110 $110 +1% Mexico $155 $147 -5% Morocco $146 $110 -25% Netherlands $177 $158 -11% New Zealand $101 $103 +2% Norway $201 $193 -4% Poland $114 $112 -2% Portugal $138 $118 -15% Russia $215 $200 -7% Singapore $161 $179 +11% South Africa $138 $163 +18% South Korea $140 $155 +11% Spain & Canary Islands $149 $137 -8% Sweden $164 $161 -2% Switzerland $233 $219 -6% Thailand $101 $108 +6% Turkey $164 $139 -15% United Arab Emirates $183 $155 -15% United Kingdom $184 $180 -2% United States of America $145 $136 -6%

At home, Toronto (up 4%, CAD$135.62), Vancouver (down slightly 2%, CAD$140.41) and Montreal (up 6%, CAD$147.79) were the top destinations for both Canadians travelling domestically and for international travelers entering Canada. The only difference was, domestically, Montreal was ranked second, while Vancouver was the second most visited city by international visitors.  Meanwhile, ski resort destinations in Canada benefited from an increase in demand due to an increase in snow fall in the latter part of 2010. Mont Tremblant, QC (CAD$209.19) and Whistler, BC (CAD$177.73), both saw increases of 10% over the same period a year earlier. Jasper and Lake Louise in Alberta were both down slightly, offering increased value to travelers. Lake Louise rates were off 4% (CAD$213.99), while Jasper rates dipped 5% (CAD$159.16) year over year.