Most British Columbians Will Avoid Travel During Holiday Season

More than four-in-five of the province’s residents are concerned about travellers not following COVID-19 protocols.  

Vancouver, BC [November 26, 2021] – Many residents of British Columbia acknowledge that they are not going to go on a trip in the next few weeks, a new Research Co. poll has found.  

In the online survey of a representative provincial sample, 56% of British Columbians say they do not plan to take a holiday—or spend at least one night away from their current location—in the next three months.  

British Columbians aged 18-to-34 are more likely to say that they intend to travel during this holiday season (56%) than their counterparts aged 35-to-54 (45%) and aged 55 and over (34%).  

Significant proportions of British Columbians are uneasy about relying on specific forms of transportation at this point. Fewer than half of the province’s residents (46%) say they are willing to travel on a ferry right now—a proportion that rises to 58% among residents of Vancouver Island.  

At least one-in-four British Columbians are willing to take an airplane flight to another province (36%), an airplane flight within British Columbia (32%), a trip by car to the United States (27%) or a bus trip shorter than 3 hours (25%).  

Fewer British Columbians are willing to take a railway trip (23%), an airplane fight to a different continent (22%), an airplane flight to the United States (21%), a bus trip longer than 3 hours (16%) or a trip on a cruise ship (11%).  

“More than a third of British Columbians aged 18-to-34 (35%) say they would have no problem taking a trip by car to the United States,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “The proportion drops to 26% among those aged 35-to-54 and to 22% among those among those aged 55 and over.”  

When asked about possible problems that may arise during travel, more than four-in-five British Columbians (83%) say they are “very concerned” or “moderately concerned” about travellers not following COVID-19 protocols.  

At least three-in-four British Columbians say they are worried about three other issues: facing delays due to COVID-19 restrictions (78%), losing money due to cancellations (77%) and getting infected with COVID-19 during a trip (75%).  

Concerns about travellers not following COVID-19 protocols and getting infected with COVID-19 during a trip are higher among British Columbians who have a child under the age of 12 in their household (85% and 79% respectively).