Unpopular tours despite the flexibility

Will the easing of border measures motivate more Quebeckers to go abroad this summer? Not really, if you trust the players in the tourism sector.

Also read: Tourism: The pressure to re-open borders with our neighbors is growing

“It already started in late 2021 and early 2022, people call us every day and we sell for those dates,” said Johanne Larivier, a travel consultant for the Fifth Season Agency.

With regard to the summer, relaxations are falling “deceptively”, sanctions are “too much” and there is no official “go”, which makes things a little more complicated. “I have a client who wants to go to Greece in July, but I’m very vulnerable, we do not have specific information,” explains the consultant. She refused to sell his ticket.

Om^{To me} Larivier is looking forward to “accurate and concrete” decisions from Ottawa and is focused on the fall, or even 2022.

Big discount for this fall

At CAA-Quebec it’s a bit of the same thing, where tour operators go out of their way to attract customers in the fall, not in the summer. “They are aggressive, with a lot of offers at 30-40-50% off for all entries in October and November,” said Nicholas Ryan, the company’s director of public affairs.

People are looking for flexibility above all else, and he is not ready to commit to travel without making sure he can pay them back in case of cancellation.

CAA-Quebec is publishing its annual survey of Quebecars’ holiday intentions today, indicating that 83% of excursions will be in the province this year. Of that number, 54% go to one area or another, and 28% plan to stay at home.

The company claims that the popularity of recreational vehicles “does not change”. According to a survey conducted by Leger on behalf of CAA-Quebec, the proportion of Quebecars traveling our roads on RVs will increase from 4% in 2020 to 10% in 2021.