KAYAK data reveals Canadians are travelling far and wide this holiday season, while our U.S. neighbours are staying close to home

KAYAK's Holiday Travel Trend Forecast reveals this year's hottest holiday destinations

TORONTO, Oct. 23, 2019 /CNW/ - KAYAK, the world's leading travel search engine, has released its 2019 Holiday Travel Trend Forecast revealing where Canadians are jet-setting to and the best time to book for a great price.

KAYAK data illustrates that Canadians have more ambitious holiday travel plans than their U.S. neighbours with far flung cities like Bangkok, Tokyo, London and Puerto Vallarta topping this year's list of popular cities. For Canadians, the appearance of Bangkok and Tokyo indicate an appetite for Asia - a difference compared to Americans' holiday travel plans that include primarily domestic cities like Orlando, New York, Las Vegas, Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

"We're seeing Canadian travel habits shift this holiday season compared to last year, especially when it comes to New Year's Eve travel," said Steve Sintra, KAYAK's Regional Director for North America. "Europe, for example, had a bigger presence last year likely due to the entrance of low-cost carriers to the market, but has been replaced this year by Caribbean hotspots like Bermuda, Curacao, Jamaica and Aruba."

But, despite vast differences in travel preferences, one thing is for certain - St. Lucia is gaining momentum. Snagging the number one spot on the New Year's Eve top trending list for both Canadian and American travellers, St. Lucia is top of mind with travel interest up 300+ per cent. This can likely be attributed to new flight routes and increased marketing efforts from St. Lucia tourism.

Additional insights from this year's Holiday Travel Trend Forecast include:

• Osaka is wooing Canadian foodies. Food and travel go together so well that 1 in 5 Canadians are willing to travel based solely on how good they expect the food to be. Perhaps that's why travel interest to Osaka, known for its thriving food scene, is up this holiday season.
  
  
• Hop over to the U.S. for a more affordable vacation. Budget conscious travellers can find flights to New York City, D.C., Boston, Nashville and Chicago which are the most affordable holiday destinations all with a median airfare under $500.
  
  
• Score a good deal by flying on a holiday. This is true for both Christmas and New Year's Eve travel.
  
  
• Jamaica lures travellers with cheaper airfare. An appealing price tag combined with nonstop flight routes to white sand beaches is likely luring Canadian travellers to Montego Bay this New Year's Eve.
  
  
• Colombia is still top of mind. Bogota replaced Cartagena on this year's list of top trending New Year's Eve destinations. But, good weather, festive activities and delicious food are not the only factors attracting Canadians to this beautiful country. Colombia's Foreign Ministry's decision to lift its "Reciprocity Fee" on May 1 for all Canadian tourists could be having an impact on the surge in travel interest.
  
  
• Canadians should book domestic travel in advance, but the price is right to book international flights last minute. For holiday travel, the best (most inexpensive) time to book domestic flights is five to seven weeks in advance. For international travel, Canadians can expect the cheapest flight prices if they book within the month leading up to their departure.

For more ideas and inspiration, check out KAYAK's 2019 Holiday Trends Forecast, which offers insights into Canadian travel trends.

About KAYAK

KAYAK helps millions of travellers around the globe make confident travel decisions. As the world's leading travel search engine, KAYAK searches other sites to show travellers the information they need to find the right flights, hotels, rental cars and vacation packages. KAYAK is an independently managed subsidiary of Booking Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: BKNG). For more information, visit www.KAYAK.com.

Methodology

Unless otherwise indicated, KAYAK considered searches for holiday travel conducted on the Canada KAYAK site between January 1, 2019 through October 8, 2019 for travel from Canada occurring between December 1, 2019 through January 6, 2020. KAYAK considered searches for New Year's Eve travel conducted on the Canada KAYAK site between January 1, 2019 through October 8, 2019 for travel from Canada departing between December 26, 2019 to January 1, 2020 and returning between January 1, 2020 and January 5, 2020. All flight searches are round-trip economy flights using median airfare and excludes price outliers based on certain criteria. All searches were pulled from KAYAK's internal database. Prices may vary.

SOURCE KAYAK

Jill Lindsay, [email protected], (o) 416 342 1801, (c) 416 859 8381