Ms. Mandy Gresh, Country Manager, Travelzoo Canada, talks to TravelDailyNews about the latest trends in Canada's travel industry, Canadians travel habits as well as Travelzoo Canada new initiatives. 

TravelDailyNews: What are the latest trends in Canadian travel & tourism industry?
 
Mandy Gresh: Some trends I’m seeing include:

Eco-travel – It isn’t just about the destination or hotels washing less towels and sheets anymore as more and more travel companies are thinking outside of the box to address consumers’ concerns with eco-friendly initiatives designed to reduce their carbon footprint. 

Experiential vacations (i.e. trips that are based around a specific theme – like a metropolitan city vacation with shows and museums, culinary getaways with cooking lessons and tastings or a adventure vacations with biking and river rafting)

TDN: Which destinations are going to top the list for Canadians this summer?  

M. G.: Like with summer’s past, I think we’ll see a lot of Canadians sticking close to home this summer, and exploring their own country.  Increased service from airlines like Porter and Sunwing to Atlantic Canada, will make destinations like Halifax more affordable for travellers to get to, at great time to visit.  In a recent survey of our subscribers, we also noticed destinations in Ontario topping the lists of summer hotspots, with Niagara Falls, Ontario Cottage Country, and Toronto ranking the most popular. Vancouver and Montreal also ranked high in our subscribers’ preferred summer destinations.

This of course is not to say that I think Canadians won’t be heading outbound this summer – almost half our surveyed subscribers (46%) said that they are planning international getaways.  Even with the declining dollar, there are so many great deals on airfare to Europe for June, July and August travel that I still expect we’ll see many Canadians crossing the pond.

TDN: What are Canadians' travel criteria when they choose a leisure destination?

M. G.: Obviously, one of the first things that I think plays into it is seasonality. One of the most interesting things I learned about this market when I opened that Canadian office two years ago, was how much the weather plays into a consumer’s choice of travel destination (i.e. sun and sand in the winter; and Canadian wilderness/cityscape in the summer).

Additionally, I may be biased as we are in the travel deal business, but in a market where you essentially have only two major airlines, I think the cost of getting to a destination is a factor for most travellers.  In terms of user feedback, we get the most praise for helping subscribers find the best air deals in the market; and more than three-fourths of our subscribers (76%) said airfare is the first thing they look at when planning their trip. 

I think we’re also seeing a trend in “themed vacations”. Our recent subscriber study showed that travellers are looking for specific ideas when vacationing, and surprisingly to me, metropolitan city vacations which include shows, concerts, museums etc. topped the list.

TDN: As dollar slides further against euro, are Canadians willing to travel to Europe this summer? If yes, would that be in a resort or taking a cruise?  

M. G.: In our latest poll, we found that 70% of our subscribers said that the dollar was not going to affect how they choose their travel destinations this summer. That said, I think you are still going to see travellers heading to Europe.  As I mentioned earlier, those great flight deals are hard to pass up – even if it means being conscientious of their spending when arriving in Europe.

The cruising question brings up another interesting point. Our partners are reporting phenomenal response from our audience on the European air and cruise deals they’re promoting for late summer and fall travel – so it’s obvious that consumers are seeing cruising as a more affordable way to explore Europe. 
 
TDN: As people show high concern at environmental issues, what are your expectations for eco-travel this year?  

M. G.: “Going green” is the ultimate travel trend of 2008.  Eco-travel will continue to grow in popularity among travel companies looking to take advantage of the trend, but it will also grow in demand among conscientious consumers. 

Whether it’s building new jets to reduce weight and improve engine efficiency, introducing eco-friendly cleaning products, or purchasing carbon offsets, travel companies across the industry will continue to develop their own ways to reduce their contributions to global warming and cut on costs.  Concerned travellers will reward those companies that are making the extra effort and choose to book their travel through them.

Companies within all sectors of the travel industry are introducing eco-initiatives.  Rental car companies such as Hertz and Alamo are making a concerted effort to reduce their carbon footprint.  Almost the entire Hertz fleet (99%) is equipped with vapour recovery controls while Alamo offers a customer carbon offset program with its TerraPass partner.  Kimpton Hotels actually created the Kimpton EarthCare environmental program to introduce eco-friendly products (i.e. cleaning supplies, soy inks) and practices (towel/linen reuse, in-room recycling bins) to its hotels.  Norwegian Cruise Line participates in vessel speed reduction program which limits air emissions by slowing ships to 12 knots

TDN: Are you planning anything new for Travelzoo Canada this year? 

M. G.: We have hopes to launch in French by the end of this year. Our users should also look forward to expanded Shows & Events listings as we work with more U.S. and Canadian-based performances and attractions.