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).

Methodology:
Results are based on an online study conducted from November 15 to November 17, 2021, among 800 adults in British Columbia. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region in Canada. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
 

Find our data tables here and download the press release here. 

For more information on this poll, please contact:

Mario Canseco, President, Research Co.

778.929.0490