I Feel Safe to Travel
Since the beginning of December, Atlantic Canadian’s feeling of safety towards travel within their province has trended upward while comfort levels for out-of-province domestic travel have fluctuated.
When compared to other Canadian residents, Atlantic Canadians continue to be the most likely to feel comfortable travelling within their province.
- 79% somewhat/strongly agree that they feel safe travelling to communities near them. Up from a low of 72% during the Dec. 1st, 2020 survey.
- 70% somewhat/strongly agree that they feel safe travelling to communities within their province. Up from a low of 58% during the Dec. 1st, 2020 survey, flat with last week’s results.
When compared to other Canadian residents, Atlantic Canadians continue to be the most likely to feel uncomfortable travelling to other provinces or territories in Canada and internationally.
- 15% somewhat/strongly agree that they feel comfortable travelling to other Canadian provinces or territories, down from 19% last week.
o Alberta residents continue to be the most likely to feel comfortable travelling to other Canadian provinces or territories (51%).
- 9% somewhat/strongly agree that they feel comfortable travelling internationally, up from 6% last week.
o Alberta and Quebec residents are the most likely to feel comfortable travelling internationally (~20%-25%).
Receptivity of Advertising
Atlantic Canadians are the most likely in the country to be receptive to advertising that promotes their community as a destination to other communities near them (+46 net level of happiness) and within their province (+34). Ontario residents are the most likely to be unhappy to see advertising that promotes their community to other communities near them (+2) and their province (-12).
Quebec residents are the only province to report a positive net level of happiness to see advertising that promotes their community as a destination to other parts of Canada (+15). Atlantic Canadian residents are likely to be unhappy seeing advertisements that promote their community as a destination to other parts of Canada (-19) but are no longer the most likely to be unhappy in the country, as British Columbian residents reported a -24 net level of happiness during this survey wave.
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I Feel Safe to Travel
Compared to the previous wave, Atlantic Canadian residents’ feelings of safety towards all travel destinations remained stable. Atlantic Canadian residents are the most likely to feel comfortable travelling within their province in Canada:
- 82% somewhat/strongly agree that they feel safe travelling to communities near them.
o Up from 79% during the Jan. 26th, 2021 survey.
o Alberta residents are the next most likely with 74% stating they feel safe travelling to communities near them.
- 73% somewhat/strongly agree that they feel safe travelling to communities within their province.
o Up from 70% during the Jan. 26th, 2020 survey.
o Alberta residents are the next most likely with 63% stating they feel safe travelling within their province.
o British Columbia residents are the least likely to feel comfortable travelling within their province with less than half (42%) stating they feel comfortable.
When compared to other Canadian residents, Atlantic Canadian residents continue to be the most likely to feel uncomfortable travelling to other provinces or territories in Canada and internationally.
- 19% somewhat/strongly agree that they feel comfortable travelling to other Canadian provinces or territories.
o Up from 15% during the last survey wave.
o Alberta residents continue to be the most likely to feel comfortable travelling to other Canadian provinces or territories, by a notable margin, at 43%.
- Residents from Saskatchewan/Manitoba were the next most likely to feel comfortable travelling throughout Canada at 29%.
- 5% somewhat/strongly agree that they feel comfortable travelling to the United States and 7% internationally.
o Alberta residents are the most likely to feel comfortable travelling internationally (~16%).
Level of Welcome
Atlantic Canadian residents are the most likely in the country to welcome visitors from within their province.
- 75% are somewhat/strongly agree with welcoming visitors from communities near them.
o This is a notable jump from 66% during the January 19th, 2021 survey wave.
o Quebec residents were the least likely to welcome visitors from communities near them at 39%.
- 64% are somewhat/strongly agree with welcoming visitors from other parts of their province.
o Up from 58% during the January 19th, 2021 survey wave and up from a low of 54% during the November 24th, 2020 survey wave.
o British Columbia and Ontario residents were the least likely in the country to welcome visitors from other parts of their province, at 27% and 28%, respectively.
Atlantic Canadian residents are not likely to be welcoming of visitors from other parts of Canada or internationally.
- Only 15% stated they are likely to welcome visitors from other parts of Canada.
o This was tied with British Columbia residents for the lowest mark in the country.
o Alberta residents were the most likely to welcome residents from other parts of Canada at 38%.
- Approximately 5% stated they would welcome visitors from the United States and 4% from other countries.
o These were both the lowest marks in the country.
o Alberta residents are the most likely to welcome visitors from the United States (17%) and from other countries (15%).
Click HERE to view full report
I Feel Safe to Travel
Generally, Canadians feel safe travelling within their own provincial border with notable drops the further you travel from home. Atlantic Canadian residents’ are the most likely to feel comfortable travelling within their province in Canada:
- 83% somewhat/strongly agree that they feel safe travelling to communities near them.
o Alberta residents are the next most likely, with 71% stating they feel safe travelling to communities near them.
- 71% somewhat/strongly agree that they feel safe travelling to communities within their province.
o Alberta residents are the next most likely with 68% stating they feel safe travelling within their province.
o British Columbia residents are the least likely to feel comfortable travelling within their province with half (50%) stating they feel comfortable.
When compared to other Canadian residents, Atlantic Canadian residents continue to be the most likely to feel uncomfortable travelling to other provinces or territories in Canada and internationally.
- 20% somewhat/strongly agree that they feel comfortable travelling to other Canadian provinces or territories.
o Alberta residents continue to be the most likely to feel comfortable travelling to other Canadian provinces or territories, by a notable margin, at 50%.
- 6% somewhat/strongly agree that they feel comfortable travelling to the United States and internationally.
o Quebec residents are the most likely to feel comfortable travelling internationally (~21%).
Receptivity of Advertising
Atlantic Canadian residents are the most likely in the country to be happy to see advertisements promoting their community as a destination within their province:
- Atlantic Canadians reported a net level of happiness (total of very happy and happy less total of very unhappy and unhappy) of +57 when seeing advertisements promoting their community as a destination to communities near them.
o This is up from +46 during Jan. 28th, 2021.
o The next closest province was Quebec at +29.
- Atlantic Canadians reported a net level of happiness of +37 when seeing advertisements promoting their community as a destination to other parts of their province.
o The next closest province was Quebec and Alberta, both at +20.
o Ontario (-4) and British Columbia (-3) residents both reported negative net levels of happiness on this metric.
Atlantic Canadian residents are likely to be unhappy to see advertisements promoting their community as a destination outside of their province:
- With a -24 net level of happiness, Atlantic Canadians were the second most likely in the country to be unhappy to see advertisements promoting their community as a destination to other parts of Canada.
o SK/MB were the most likely to be unhappy on this metric at -27.
- With a -60 net level of happiness, Atlantic Canadians are the most likely in the country to be unhappy to see advertisements promoting their community as a destination internationally.
o All Canadian regions reported negative net levels of happiness on this metric.
View the full report here
I Feel Safe to Travel
Compared to the previous week, Canadian residents feel more safe travelling domestically. There were notable improvements in the percentage of residents that stated they feel safe to travel inter-provincially in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec. Atlantic Canadian residents’ feelings of safety towards all travel destinations remained stable. Alberta residents surpassed Atlantic Canadian residents as the most likely to feel safe travelling within their province this week:
- 77% somewhat/strongly agree that they feel safe travelling to communities near them.
o Up from 74% during Feb. 16.
o 79% of Alberta residents feel safe (high point of range) travelling to communities near them and 60% of Saskatchewan/Manitoba residents feel safe (low point of range).
- 65% somewhat/strongly agree that they feel safe travelling to communities within their province.
o This is flat from Feb. 16 results.
o 67% of Alberta residents feel safe (high point of range) travelling to communities within their province and 53% of British Columbia residents feel safe (low point of range).
Atlantic Canadian residents are once again the most likely to feel uncomfortable travelling to other provinces or territories in Canada and internationally.
- 17% somewhat/strongly agree that they feel comfortable travelling to other Canadian provinces or territories.
o Alberta residents are the most likely to feel safe travelling to other provinces or territories in Canada at 48%.
- 9% somewhat/strongly agree that they feel comfortable travelling to the United States.
o This was the lowest mark in the country. Alberta residents were the most likely to feel comfortable travelling to the United States at 19%.
- 9% somewhat/strongly agree that they feel comfortable travelling to other international destinations.
o Alberta residents were the most likely to feel comfortable travelling to other international destinations at 20%.
Receptivity to Advertising
Overall, Canadian residents are likely to be happy when they see an advertisement promoting their community as a destination to visitors from within their province. They are also likely to be unhappy when they see an advertisement promoting their community as a destination to visitors from other parts of Canada or internationally.
Atlantic Canadian residents are the most likely in the country to be happy seeing an advertisement promoting their community to visitors from within their province:
- Atlantic Canadian residents reported a +50 net level of happiness if they saw an advertisement promoting their community to visitors from other communities near them. Note: net level of happiness is equal to the total of very happy and happy less the total of very unhappy and unhappy.
o British Columbia residents reported the lowest net level of happiness for this category at +12.
- Atlantic Canadian residents reported a +29 net level of happiness if they saw an advertisement promoting their community to visitors from other parts of their province.
o Ontario residents reported the lowest net level of happiness for this category at +3.
Atlantic Canadian residents are the most likely in the country to be unhappy if they saw an advertisement promoting their community as a destination to visitors from outside of their province:
- Atlantic Canadian residents reported a -35 net level of happiness if they saw an advertisement promoting their community to visitors from other parts of Canada.
o Alberta residents were the most likely to be happy in this category with a net level of happiness of +7.
- Atlantic Canadian residents reported a -54 net level of happiness if they saw an advertisement promoting their community to visitors from the United States.
o Residents from all provinces reported a negative net level of happiness for this category.
- Atlantic Canadian residents reported a -55 net level of happiness if they saw an advertisement promoting their community to other countries.
o Residents from all provinces reported a negative net level of happiness for this category as well.
Amid rising COVID-19 cases across the country, feelings of safety have gone down for some regions, but the receptivity to advertising is not necessarily following in lockstep, suggesting that Canadians’ confidence toward travel prospects later this year remain relatively stable.
I Feel Safe to Travel
Except for Alberta residents, there were drops in feelings of safety towards out-of-province travel across Canada. This drop was most significant in Atlantic Canada where only 22% of residents are likely to feel safe traveling outside their home province, down from 32% during March 23rd.
Atlantic Canadian residents’ continue to be the most likely in Canada to feel safe travelling within their province, by a notable margin:
- 91% somewhat/strongly agree that they feel safe travelling to communities near them.
o This is the highest mark achieved since tracking began on September 15th, 2020.
o British Columbia residents were the next most likely to feel safe travelling within their province at 80%.
- 76% somewhat/strongly agree that they feel safe travelling to communities within their province.
o Alberta residents are the next most likely to feel safe travelling to communities within their province at 66%.
Compared to the rest of the country, Atlantic Canadian residents are the least likely to be comfortable traveling to other provinces or territories in Canada:
- 22% somewhat/strongly agree that they feel safe travelling to other provinces or territories in Canada.
- Alberta residents are the most likely to be comfortable travelling inter-provincially within Canada by a notable margin with 54% that somewhat/strongly agree that they feel safe doing so.
Receptivity to Advertising
Following a similar pattern to comfort to travel, Atlantic Canadians are very receptive to advertising their community as a destination to communities near them and within their province but remain likely to be unhappy to see advertisements that promote their community as a destination outside of their province.
- Atlantic Canadians reported a net level of happiness (total of very happy and happy less total of very unhappy and unhappy) of +54 when seeing advertisements promoting their community as a destination to communities near them, representing 63% of respondents.
o Ontario (+12) and BC (+12) reported the lowest net level of happiness on this metric.
- Atlantic Canadians reported a net level of happiness of +41 when seeing advertisements promoting their community as a destination to other parts of their province, representing 54% of respondents.
o Ontario (+1) reported the lowest net level of happiness on this metric.
- With a -23 net level of happiness, Atlantic Canadians were the most likely in the country to be unhappy to see advertisements promoting their community as a destination to other parts of Canada. This represents 47% of respondents who said they were unhappy or very unhappy.
o Residents from Quebec (+16) and Alberta (+9) were the only ones to report a positive net level of happiness for this metric.
- With a -48 net level of happiness, Atlantic Canadians are the most likely in the country to be unhappy to see advertisements promoting their community as a destination internationally.
o All Canadian regions reported negative net levels of happiness on this metric.
For Atlantic Canadians, feelings of safety travelling are slightly lower than the previous week, and receptivity to advertising has decreased towards all domestic regions and internationally.
I Feel Safe to Travel
Compared to the April 20th survey results, Atlantic Canadians’ feelings of safety toward travel remained stable. It is worth noting that Atlantic Canadians feelings of safety toward domestic travel had been trending up since mid-to-late February, but have retracted partially over the past two weeks:
- 81% somewhat/strongly agree that they feel safe travelling to communities near them.
o This is the highest mark in the country and has grown from 74% on February 9th.
o Quebec reported the lowest levels on this metric at 60%.
- 73% somewhat/strongly agree that they feel safe travelling to communities within their province.
o This is also the highest mark in the country and has grown from 65% on February 9th.
o Ontario reported the lowest levels on this metric at 51%.
- 18% somewhat/strongly agree that they feel safe travelling to other provinces or territories in Canada.
o This is the lowest mark in the country and down from 32% on March 23rd.
o Alberta reported the highest mark for this metric at 49%.
Compared to the rest of the country, Atlantic Canadian residents are the least likely to feel safe traveling internationally:
- 11% somewhat/strongly agree that they feel safe travelling to the United States
o This is the lowest mark in the country.
o Alberta reported the highest mark for this metric at 33%.
- 12% somewhat/strongly agree that they feel safe travelling internationally.
o Alberta reported the highest mark for this metric at 26%.
Receptivity to Advertisement
Atlantic Canadians continue to look positively towards advertising of their community locally and negatively towards advertising their community to other parts of Canada and abroad. However, compared to the previous period (week of April 6th), Atlantic Canadians receptivity to advertisements have dropped for all domestic regions and internationally. This trend is generally consistent across Provinces, with the exception of Alberta.
- Atlantic Canadians reported a net level of happiness (total of very happy and happy less total of very unhappy and unhappy) of +33 when seeing advertisements promoting their community as a destination to communities near them.
o This is down from +54 during the previous period on April 6th.
o This is the second highest net level of happiness in Canada, behind Alberta (+35) for “communities near me”.
- Atlantic Canadians reported a net level of happiness of +28 when seeing advertisements promoting their community as a destination to other parts of their province.
o This is down from +41 during the previous period on April 6th.
o BC (-19) and ON (-2) both report negative values for net level of happiness for “other parts of my province”.
- Atlantic Canadian residents are likely to be unhappy to see advertisements promoting their community as a destination outside of their province:
o With a -35 net level of happiness, Atlantic Canadians were the most likely in the country to be unhappy to see advertisements promoting their community as a destination to other parts of Canada. Residents from Quebec (+8) and Alberta (+2) were the only ones to report a positive net promoter score for this metric.
o With a -59 net level of happiness, Atlantic Canadians are the most likely in the country to be unhappy to see advertisements promoting their community as a destination internationally. All Canadian regions reported negative net levels of happiness on this metric.
As the nation remains in a third wave of COVID-19 transmission, feelings of safety for travel and level of welcome towards visitors is increasing in some areas of the country, and decreasing in others. For Atlantic Canada, feeling safe to travel has not changed significantly, but welcome towards visitors has decreased from the previous period on April 20th, 2021. This reporting period, which was fielded from Friday to Sunday preceding May 4th, coincides with increasing COVID-19 infection rates in the region including the recent spike in cases in Nova Scotia.
I Feel Safe to Travel
Compared to the April 20th survey results, Atlantic Canadians’ feelings of safety toward travel have remained relatively stable.
- 80% somewhat/strongly agree that they feel safe travelling to communities near them.
o This is the highest mark in the country, but is down from a high of 91% on April 6th, 2021.
o Québec is reporting the lowest level on this metric at 67% for the current period.
- 65% somewhat/strongly agree that they feel safe travelling to communities within their province.
o This is also the highest mark in the country, however this is down from a high of 78% in late March.
o Ontario is reporting the lowest level on this metric at 54% for the current period.
- 21% somewhat/strongly agree that they feel safe travelling to other provinces or territories in Canada.
o This is the lowest mark in the country and down from 32% on March 23rd.
o Alberta reported the highest mark for this metric at 41%.
Compared to the rest of the country, Atlantic Canadian residents are the least likely to feel safe traveling internationally:
- 13% somewhat/strongly agree that they feel safe travelling to the United States
o This is the lowest mark in the country but up from 5% on March 8th.
o Alberta reported the highest mark for this metric at 24%.
- 16% somewhat/strongly agree that they feel safe travelling internationally, the highest reported to date for Atlantic Canadians.
o Alberta reported the highest mark for this metric at 21% for the current period.
Level of Welcome Towards Visitors
For some provinces in Canada, level of welcome towards visitors has had a significant increase (BC, ON), and for others it has had a significant decrease (AB). Atlantic Canadians level of welcome towards visitors from within their province has decreased for for the current period compared to the previous.
- 66% of Atlantic Canadians somewhat/strongly agree with welcoming visitors from communities near them.
o This is a highest point in the country, however other Provinces are starting to come in line with Atlantic Canadians.
o This represents a sharp drop from 80% in the previous period on April 20th.
- 55% of Atlantic Canadians somewhat/strongly agree with welcoming visitors from other parts of their province.
o This is also the highest rate in the country, however it has decreased strongly from 74% reported in the previous period on April 20th.
- 21% of Atlantic Canadians somewhat/strongly agree with welcoming visitors from other parts of Canada.
o This response has remained stable from the previous period. Atlantic Canadians have the lowest welcome towards visitors from other parts of Canada among all of the provinces/regions.
Atlantic Canadian residents are very likely to be unwelcoming of visitors from outside of their Canada:
- 15% of Atlantic Canadians somewhat/strongly agree with welcoming visitors from the United States, while 13% somewhat/strongly disagree with welcoming visitors from other countries. These responses are slowly trending upwards incrementally.
Tourism PEI has received the Phase 3 topline report from the Atlantic Canadian Travel Study (see link below). This study was conducted by MQO Research and overseen by the Atlantic Canadian Agreement on Tourism Research Committee. Phase 3 was conducted through an online panel between April 26 and May 16 (21 days). The surveys used in this study were appropriately distributed in terms of gender and age for the Atlantic Canadian provinces. Phase 1 of this study was conducted over 12 days between June 27th and July 8th, 2020. While Phase 2 was conducted over 12 days from August 10th to August 21st, 2020.
Phase 3 focused solely on Atlantic Canadians and there will be a public-facing presentation of the results by MQO Research through the GMIST on June 16th, 2021 at 10:00 am.
Click here to register for the presentation of the results.
It is worth noting, this study included research specific to travel packing that targets Atlantic Canadians. The study concludes that there is a moderate level of interest in travel packages in Atlantic Canada.
- “knowing your trip costs upfront” and “ knowing what is open and available in a region before visiting” were selected as the most appealing elements of travel packages.
