Canadians stuck in a rut for holiday spots? We dream of Oz but do the Caribbean

A very cool study was released today by the folks at Cheapflights.ca. The company surveyed more than 1,000 Canadians and found that more than 80 per cent of us are likely to return to the same place over and over again for a holiday. And eat the same dishes. At the same restaurants.

"We learned that, while travellers dream of trips to Australia, they find themselves in Florida, again and again," said Melisse Hinkle, site editor for Cheapflights.ca. "Another years means another trip to the same Disney Resort or the same beach condo."

Yeah, I bet the Florida tourism people hate that.

Forty four per cent of Canadians surveyed said they ate at the same restaurant on repeat visits, with 36 per cent visiting the same attractions. More than 32 per cent of us stay at the same hotel and almost 20 per cent eat the same meal over and over again.

I can see that being the case. There are a whack of restaurants on Main St. in Dunedin, Florida. But when I go I invariably end up on the patio at Sea Sea Rider's (see photo below) for a blackened fish sandwich at lunch. And I usually have dinner at Kelly's. They remind me of my days covering the Blue Jays in spring training and I like the ambience at both. And the food, of course.

The study found that, to no one's surprise, the Caribbean is our favourite spot for repeat visits, with 12.7 per cent of the vote. Next was Florida at 10.3 per cent, then Western Europe (7.3), Las Vegas/Southwest U.S. (6.9), Hawaii (6.7), the Maritimes (6.0), Mexico (5.9), the UK (5.5), Banff/Calgary/The Rockies (5.0), Toronto (4.5), California (4.4), Vancouver (3.8), Montreal/Quebec (3.1), New York (3.0) and Ottawa (1.9).

There was a bit of a difference between men and women on some of the destinations. The two sexes agreed mostly on the Caribbean and Florida. But men liked Western Europe more than women (8.3 per cent for men, 6.7 for women, which I find quite surprising). On the subject of Vegas/Southwest U.S., men named it their third favourite spot with a 9.2 per cent vote. Women had it number nine, with just 5.2 per cent support. Which probably isn't too surprising.

Men put a higher value on Hawaii (7.6 versus 6.0), while women liked the Maritimes more (7.1 versus 4.4 for men). Toronto? Women had us eighth at 5.4 per cent, while men put us in the 12th spot at 3.2 per cent. Montreal/Quebec I found strange. Men had the two cities ranked number nine at 4.4 per cent. Women had them down in 14th spot at just 2.3 per cent. Maybe men like the gentlemen's clubs in Montreal, who knows?

Asked where we'd go if we could travel to a new destination, the clear winner - by a country kilometer - was Australia and New Zealand. Those two countries garnered a whopping 31 per cent of the vote. Next was Eastern Europe, left in the dust at 7.0. Those two were followed by Costa Rica (6.7), the South Pacific (5.9), Alaska (5.4) and Belize (3.9). Then came, in order, Japan, Brazil, South Africa, China/Hong Kong, Thailand, India, Russia, Argentina and the Middle East.

Still, we seem to love going back to the same places an awful lot. Asked how likely they are to vacation at the same spot more than once, 20.8 per cent of us non-adventurous Canadians said it was "extremely likely." Another 32.7 per cent said it was very likely and 26.9 per cent said it was "moderately likely" and 11.5 said it was somewhat slightly likely. Meaning 80.4 per cent said it was slightly to extremely likely they'd go back. Only 8.2 per cent of us said it was not at all likely.

Asked why they would go or do go back to the same vacation spot, the top response was great weather, followed by value, "best holiday I've found," ease of access, peace of mind and safety.

Cheapflights.ca asked chartered psychologist Dr. Jane McCartney for some thoughts. The good doctor said the numbers can partly be explained because there's comfort in routine.

"Although it is widely accepted that a certain amount of structure and order is required for a healthy and productive life, having too much control can lead to boredom, tedium and being un-stimulated," she said.

WIKIMEDIA GOES TRAVEL

More on this tomorrow, but check out wikivoyage.org for the Wikimedia folks new foray into the travel biz. Interesting.

JAUNT.CA DEAL OF THE DAY

Jaunt.ca, a division of Torstar, has a deal on for a WestJet/Royal Caribbean cruise package. The deal is priced at $1,214, plus $253 in taxes, for a total of $1,467.

My family and I did a Royal Caribbean cruise to the same spots a few years ago and loved it. It's a wonderful family holiday, with something for everyone, and we were able to get off the ship a few times and do tours of the various islands, including St. Maarten/St. Martin and St. Thomas, which is beautiful and is an island I featured recently in Star Travel after a visit in October.

Here are the deal details:

Jaunt Highlights

• BONUS: Includes $50 Onboard Credit per cabin
• 7-night Eastern Caribbean Cruise sailing on the RCI Allure of the Seas
• Includes return airfare on WestJet from Toronto or Montreal to Fort Lauderdale 
• Departs and returns to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Other Ports of Call include: Nassau, Bahamas; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas & Philipsburg, St. Maarten
• Accommodations in an Inside Stateroom (March 3: Category N, March 17: Category Q)

Also included:

• The exciting DreamWorks Experience Character breakfast 
• Broadway calibre production of Chicago: The Musical
• Kids can't get enough of the Adventure Ocean Youth Program

Offer Details

• Valid for travel on the following departure dates:
  Toronto: March 3 & 17, 2013
  Montreal: March 17, 2013
• Pricing (Rates are per person based on double occupancy):
  Toronto
  March 3: $1214 + $253 tax
  March 17: $1364 + $253 tax
  
  Montreal
  March 17: $1658 tax included
• Airport/port transfers are NOT included
• This offer is 100% non-refundable at time of booking