New survey finds Canadians are longing for trips abroad, with 87 per cent reporting travel being the source of some of their most cherished memories

Wise (LON: WISE), the global technology company building the best way to move money around the world, today released global survey data shedding light on the views of Canadian international travellers.

The findings uncovered that while the majority of Canadians who travel internationally (58 per cent) remain wary about trips abroad due to the rise of the Delta COVID-19 variant, and less than one quarter plan to travel internationally in the next six months, more than two-thirds (78 per cent) say international travel is one of the things they’re most looking forward to as the pandemic stabilizes.

The survey also revealed that Canadians are more hesitant towards international travel than their southern neighbours, with 42 per cent of Americans planning trips abroad in the next six months, compared to only 24 per cent of Canadians.

“As a company committed to easing the financial woes of moving and spending money internationally, we understand there have been even more obstacles to contend with during the pandemic,” says Lindsey Grossman, Director of Product, North America at Wise. “Given the resulting limitations on travel, more than half (55 per cent) of Canadians are now reporting a stronger desire to see the world than ever before. As Canadians explore future opportunities to travel abroad, we look forward to helping them get the most out of their trips, and in the meantime we will continue to make it easier, cheaper and more transparent for Canadians – whether business owners or consumers – to send money internationally.”

Top responses for what’s been missed most about international travel include seeing new sights (56 per cent), experiencing new environments (53 per cent), disconnecting and relaxing (53 per cent), and learning about different cultures (52 per cent).

With many Canadians reporting top challenges like hotel prices and inflated exchange rates as their biggest financial “pain points” when traveling internationally, it’s no surprise that about three quarters of Canadians stated they would find Wise’s services very helpful for their next international trip.

Key Survey Findings:

• 87 per cent of Canadians agree that international travel has provided them with some of their most cherished life memories
• About four in five (78 per cent) of Canadians said as things get back to normal, international travel is one of the things they’re looking forward to most
• More than half of Canadians – 55 per cent – said they have more of a desire to travel internationally than ever before
• Less than a quarter of Canadians – 24 per cent – said they are currently planning an international trip within the next six months. Of people planning to travel within this timeframe, men and younger Canadians (18-34) were most likely to be planning international getaways at 28 per cent and 32 per cent respectively
• When asked about what they’ve missed most about international travel, seeing new sights, experiencing new environments, disconnecting and relaxing, and learning about different cultures ranked in the top responses
• 88 per cent of Canadians said the pandemic has kept them from travelling internationally as much as they normally would
• Canadians (77 per cent) are more likely than Americans (68 per cent) to say that border entry restrictions and quarantine rules have made them less interested in traveling internationally
• 75 per cent of Canadians said health and safety concerns amidst the pandemic have made them less interested in travelling internationally

Survey Methodology
This poll was conducted between August 27-29, 2021 among a national sample of 500 International Travellers in Canada. The interviews were conducted online, and Morning Consult employed robust sampling and weighting strategies guided by government statistics to ensure our final data is nationally representative according to gender, age, household income, educational attainment, and region. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.