Barbados among ‘top choices for Canadians, American travellers’

Barbados is among the top destinations of choice for Canadians and Americans who are eager to take a trip over the next 12 months, a new survey has highlighted.

A study by the 22-year-old global publisher and influencer of travel content and deals company, Travelzoo, showed Canadians said Barbados was their eighth preferred choice of destination when polled this month, a drop one place from what they indicated in November last year.

The survey showed that 61 per cent of Canadians were interested in visiting the Caribbean, 20 per cent said they were undecided and 19 per cent had no interest.

Among Americans, Barbados was the 12th choice of destination, notching up one place from being the 13th choice four months ago.

The survey said 54 per cent of Americans said they had an interest in visiting the region, 24 per cent were undecided and 22 per cent said they were not interested.

Travelzoo executives Susan Catto, Head of Publishing and Production in the Canadian market and Andrée Sanquini, US market General Manager, shared the findings of the survey.

They were panellists on the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) Live resilience series, which was held under the theme New Insights on Travel to the Caribbean and Mexico.

Catto and Sanquini indicated that it will be critical for Caribbean destinations to constantly educate travellers on the measures they are likely to experience from the moment they arrive at the destination until the time of departure if they are to sway visitors to the region.

Sanquini said: “While international travel demand is projecting to pick up in the back half of 2021, our members are dreaming about their future vacation destinations now, and international destinations including the Caribbean and Mexico are high the list for both our Canadian and American members.”

Catto warned: “All destinations will need to educate travellers on what the new travel experience is like during the pandemic. As European destinations begin ‘to lift restrictions and open back up to tourism, Caribbean and Mexico destinations will want to stay top of line with travellers to maintain market share.”

They indicated that when selecting a trip to the Caribbean or Mexico, the majority of both Canadians and Americans said they were now considering safety, ease of COVID testing and protocols, and price and flexibility.

“Majority of American and Canadian members say on-site COVID testing is important. So if your hotel is offering it, it is very important to communicate this to travellers,” said Catto.

The survey found that 62 per cent of Canadian Travelzoo members have plans for at least one international travel, with most of them considering travel around November and in February 2022. The data also showed that 55 per cent of Canadian members will book an international trip this year with only two per cent already making a booking.

In the case of the US, 53 per cent of Americans have plans of taking at least one international trip over the next 12 months, with peak travel times being September and October. It showed that 18 per cent have already booked an international vacation for this year with 55 per cent to book some point this year.

The study also found that Canadians preferred longer stays when compared to their response in August last year with 45 per cent saying they were likely to spend eight or more nights in the Caribbean, compared to the 10 per cent in August 2020.

The preference among Americans, on the other hand, did not vary much between the two surveys, with 13 per cent saying they preferred to stay eight or more nights on a Caribbean vacation, compared to 10 per cent in August last year.

Most of the Americans surveyed, 59 per cent, indicated that they would prefer a five to seven nights’ stay in the Caribbean, a slight decline from just over 62 per cent in August 2020.

The survey showed that the top ten destinations among Canadians were Cuba, Dominican Republic, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica, the Bahamas, St Lucia, Aruba, Barbados, St Martin and the Cayman Islands.

In the case of American travellers, their top choices over the next 12 months in descending order were the US Virgin Island, the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, Aruba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, St Martin, the Cayman Islands, St Lucia and the British Virgin Islands.

The Travelzoo executives did not give a sample size for the survey, but indicated that Travelzoo was able to “activate” more than 11,500 members to book a Caribbean or Mexico hotel, resulting in over 57,000 room nights and more than $19.2 million (US$9.6 million) in gross revenue since the start of March. (marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb)