As Canadian Travelers Look to Stay Put, RVing on the Rise – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News
Amid a trade war with our closest neighbors, Canadians are showing increased interest in skipping the vacation south of the border in favour of exploring Canada’s own backyard. And there’s no better way to do it than in a recreational vehicle, or RV, according to The Globe and Mail.
At Canada’s largest RV show, the Toronto Spring Camping and RV Show, in Mississauga, Ont. over the weekend, thousands packed the aisles to get a glimpse of the latest RVs from teardrop trailers to motorized Class A motorhomes, ranging in price from $10,000 to more than $500,000.
Laura Moore, 55, and her son David Cartledge, 23, were shopping for a small trailer – moving up from tenting to a towable RV. Looking at an Airstream, Moore made it clear travel to the U.S. isn’t on the agenda anytime soon. Instead, she’s planning to hit the road in an RV for a family vacation to the Bruce Peninsula in Ontario and Western Canada this summer.
“One hundred per cent, I have no interest in crossing the border now,” said Moore. “There are lots of beautiful spots in the states to see and they have free brochures at the show for RVing there, but I would not even think of crossing the border right now because of my personal feelings toward the new president.”
“Last year, 74% of Canadians decided to stay in Canada for their vacation, according to Deloitte,” said Christopher Mahony, the president of Go RVing Canada, a national non-profit RV organization. “We don’t have a stat for this year, but you can imagine what that’s probably going to look like given the current climate.”
The trend toward domestic travel started with the pandemic and Mahony expects it’ll continue to increase this summer amid rising political tensions.
“With all the uncertainty right now, similar to COVID, you’re going to see an increase for sure in domestic travel and more people looking to Canada for their recreation,” he said.
