70% of Canadian snowbirds will head to U.S. this winter: survey

According to a recent survey conducted by Snowbird Advisor of over 4,000 Canadian snowbirds in late October, 70 per cent of respondents said they intend to spend this winter in the U.S., versus 82 per cent of respondents who spent last winter in the U.S.

The 12 per cent difference in year-over-year snowbird travel to the U.S. indicates a much smaller decline than other travel segments to the U.S. have reported – and a smaller decline in snowbird travel than some other surveys reported by the media have shown, reads a press release.

“We believe the discrepancy in survey results is due to the fact that our survey focused exclusively on snowbirds who travel each winter to their snowbird destinations, while some other surveys included general travel intentions for all travellers, or Baby Boomers who are not necessarily snowbirds,” said Stephen Fine, president, Snowbird Advisor – an online resource for Canadian snowbirds.

READ MORE: Canadian travel to the U.S.: DAC panel unpacks sentiment, setbacks & signs of recovery

Fine added: “We also learned that over 50 per cent of respondents who spent last winter in the U.S. and are not returning to the U.S. this winter said that they would consider returning to the U.S. in the future.”

Increase in travel to international snowbird destinations

In addition, the survey revealed that 23 per cent of respondents intend to spend this winter in international destinations versus 12 per cent of respondents who spent last winter in international destinations, indicating that year-over-year snowbird travel to international destinations will almost double from last year.

“Clearly, the majority of Canadian snowbirds will still be going to the U.S. this winter,” said Fine. “But it does show significant growth in the number of snowbirds travelling to international destinations such as Mexico, Costa Rica, Portugal, Spain, the Caribbean and others.”

READ MORE: Cross-border travel to U.S. from Canada weakened in September: StatCan

The survey also showed that 62 per cent of respondents said they intend to spend between 3 – 6 months in their winter destinations this year versus 64 per cent last year, which is virtually unchanged, indicating snowbirds do not intend to shorten the amount of time they spend away this year.

As it has been well documented, sentiment toward the U.S., over the past year, has been undermined by several factors.

Prominent among these are policy announcements under the Trump administration, including proposed tariffs targeting long-time trade partners, including Canada, and the President’s annexation threats.

The weak Canadian dollar and media coverage of border security incidents and national travel advisories have further contributed to a negative image abroad.

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