CANADIANS STAYING HOME AND SPENDING LESS
By Adnews Staff
Most Canadians plan to vacation in their own country this summer, but they won't be spending much money and their favorite leisure activity will be sightseeing, according to a global study by Amex Canada of Markham, Ont. Forty-five per cent of Canadian respondents intend to vacation in their home country and 63% of them said their top leisure activity is sightseeing. Other popular activities are sports, going to the theatre, visiting theme parks and visiting friends and relatives. Most Canadians plan to spend less than $200 on vacations. Only 2% plan to spend over $2,000. Fifty-eight per cent of Canadians plan to buy clothes, shoes and accessories while on vacation, 26% said they will buy souvenirs, 11% will buy sports articles, 8% plan to purchase jewelry or electronics and 6% will buy books. Amex polled over 1,800 travellers from Canada, Australia, Brazil, France, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Mexico and the U.S. Among those who plan to travel to Canada the top vacation destination is B.C. with 24% of respondents planning to travel to that province. Twenty-one per cent are going to Alberta, 16% will go to Ontario, and Quebec and New Brunswick will each get 14% of the travellers. The three top vacation spenders are from Hong Kong, Brazil and Mexico.