Where Canadians will vacation and how much they’ll spend

More than half of Canadians (56%) expect to spend more this summer compared to last year, with 30% forecasting they’ll spend between $500 and $2,000, finds a survey by CPA Canada.

Yet, 45% of those surveyed say they have less money this year compared to the same time last year after paying for their monthly household essentials.

In a breakdown of vacation spending expectations, CPA Canada shows nearly two-thirds (62%) are planning a vacation, for which 21% say they’ll pay less than $1,000. Twenty-five percent will pay between $1,000 and $2,000, 20% are willing to spend nearly $3,000, and 19% will spend $3,000 or more.

To finance their getaways, most of those surveyed (56%) will use their general savings. Of that group, 40% are using funds put away specifically for summer while 20% will have to borrow.

Most (46%) of the total group surveyed by CPA Canada will stay within their provinces or territories, but 28% will head to the U.S. while 22% will travel internationally.

Read: Short-term outlook for loonie and U.S. dollar

Ahead of clients’ vacations, consider checking in to see if there are ways you can help. Remind them the loonie hasn’t been trading advantageously against the U.S. dollar, for example, and take the opportunity to discuss saving and cash flow monitoring techniques.

Read: Look into, but don’t police, clients’ spending habits

Methodology: The survey was conducted by Elemental Data Collection Inc. via telephone between June 4 and 8, with a national random sample of 1,000 adult Canadians aged 18 years and over. It’s considered accurate to within ± 3.1%, 19 times out of 20.

Also read:

Montreal home prices rise; plus, price outlook for vacation homes

The first 10 minutes: Dealing with a neglected cabin

Financial literacy doesn’t translate to financial security: survey