A new year brings new opportunities to go out and experience the world. We dove into our data to figure out where Canadians are headed in 2018. The biggest insight we discovered? With flights within the country remaining relatively expensive, we’re seeing travellers head to destinations that’ll maximize their time off while still getting them the best bang for their buck.
So, what’s the hottest destination for Canadians in 2018?
The honor goes to Cartagena, Colombia. With a 58% increase in searches, this tropical oasis also benefits from increased flight routes, record low crime rates and a booming economy. It also sets a trend for the rest of our Top Trending Destinations list. Canadians are invariably headed to warm, far-flung places this year. Places like the Maldives are more affordable in 2018 than they were in previous years (airfare prices are down 31%), which could be behind the 44% increase in searches.
Here are the full lists for the top trending, deal and most popular destinations for Canadian travellers in 2018:
Top 10 Trending Destinations Among Canadian Travelers
These destinations saw the greatest increase in searches year over year.
- Cartagena, Colombia: Searches up 58%
- Casablanca, Morocco: Searches up 51%
- Phuket, Thailand: Searches up 50%
- Osaka, Japan: Searches up 49%
- Bali, Indonesia: Searches up 46%
- Male, Maldives: Searches up 44%
- Jacksonville, Florida: Searches up 38%
- Faro, Portugal: Searches up 38%
- Oranjestad, Aruba: Searches up 37%
- Maui, Hawaii: Searches up 36%
Top 10 Deal Destinations Among Canadian Travelers
These destinations have seen the biggest decrease in flight price, year over year.
- Male, Maldives: Flight prices down 31%
- Boston, Massachusetts: Flight prices down 19%
- Dallas, Texas: Flight prices down 16%
- Palm Springs, California: Flight prices down 15%
- Chicago, Illinois: Flight prices down 12%
- Denver, Colorado: Flight prices down 11%
- Jacksonville, Florida: Flight prices down 11%
- Belize City, Belize: Flight prices down 11%
- Copenhagen, Denmark: Flight prices down 10%
- Tampa, Florida: Flight prices down 9%
Top 10 Most Popular Destinations Among Canadians
These are most-searched-for destinations on KAYAK by Canadians.
- Orlando, Florida
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Cancun, Mexico
- Honolulu, Hawaii
- San Jose, Costa Rica
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- Miami, Florida
- Los Angeles, California
- Maui, Hawaii
What would be a destination list without some KAYAK Travel Hacks? In order to help Canadian travellers more confidently plan their trips this year, here’s what we think you should know.
- Not ready to plan a trip now? Procrastinators may be rewarded by flight deals this summer as new low cost carriers enter Canada bringing lower fares domestically, to Europe and across the border to the US.
- For domestic flights, fly in April when median airfare is at its lowest. Historical data reveals budget-conscious travelers should consider taking their summer vacation a bit earlier this year. Flying domestically in April compared to December could save travelers more than $150.
- Avoid traveling internationally in July when flight prices are at their highest. While December is typically one of the most expensive months to travel thanks to the holidays, it’s actually July that takes the cake for international travelers with median airfare upwards of $1,000. Consider flying in February instead when median flight prices drop under $670.
- There are travel deals to be had in the US. Not only are most cities a quick and easy flight away, now they will be cheaper to fly into: Boston, Dallas, Palm Springs, Chicago, Denver and Tampa are all seeing prices drop by at least 9% compared to last year.
- Head west without breaking the bank. Budget-conscious travelers looking to keep it local should consider Saskatoon, Edmonton and Kelowna – all of which are seeing price drops of at least 30% compared to last year.
- Need more inspiration? The KAYAK Travel Hacker Guide is out for 2018. We combed through over 1.5 billion annual searches from the US and Canada to give you the top destinations of the year. Find out where to go, when to book, what to expect and how much to spend.
Methodology
Unless otherwise indicated, we considered searches conducted on the Canada KAYAK site between June 1, 2017 through December 1, 2017 for travel from Canada occurring between January 1, 2018 through June 1, 2018. To compare year over year searches, KAYAK looked at all searches conducted on the Canada KAYAK site between June 1, 2016 through December 1, 2016 for travel from Canada occurring between January 1, 2017 through June 1, 2017. All flight searches are round-trip economy flights using median airfare and excludes price outliers based on certain criteria. All searches were pulled from KAYAK’s internal database. Prices may vary.
