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Spending Canada’s Drooping Dollar Abroad with FlightHub

Canadian travellers are getting pinched in today’s economy. With the plunging value of oil and the Canadian Dollar, traditional US destinations are way less attractive to Canadians who are looking to fill out their vacation schedules.

While this is disrupting peoples plans, it also opening all kinds of avenues for alternative vacations. While Canada’s dollar is unique on a cosmetic level, all currencies are subject to valuation changes, and Canada has not been alone in riding a bumpy economic road.

I spoke with  FlightHub, an online travel agency based in Canada, about how travel patterns are being effected in Canada. FlightHub reviews not just people’s travel habits, but also the economic conditions that can drive trends in the online travel industry. They had some great suggestions for how Canadians can still hit the road and get great value out of their trips.

1 – Do Your Currency Research

The Canadian Dollar is low, but there are many countries out there that have much lower valued currencies. Places like India, Japan, and Brazil are great places to visit made even better by the strength of the Canadian Dollar against their respective currencies. In fact, despite the drop in value, Canada still has one of the strongest currencies on the planet, trailing countries and currencies like the US, Switzerland, and the Euro.

Grand Palace in Bangkok – photo by Brad Augsburger

2 – Think Outside The Box

People have routines and habits. Maybe they always go to Florida, Las Vegas, or New York City. To each their own on this accord, but FlightHub says thinking outside of the box can be very valuable.

Places in Southeast Asia are warm, sunny, and beautiful and all represent high value propositions when it comes to currency. While the sticker shock on flights is real, necessities like food, accommodations, and other needs are very cheap, making up the value you might lose on throwing an extra couple hundred dollars on flights.

Banff – photo by Claude Robillard on Flickr CC

3 – Worst Case Scenario: Canada Is Pretty Cool Too

This is something FlightHub is starting to see an awful lot of. The stay-cation is seldom a popular thing in Canada, but with conditions being what they are, they are becoming a worthy consideration. FlightHub has seen a pretty large rise in Canadians flying to and from Canadian cities.

While business trips can often justify these numbers, FlightHub took a deeper look and saw that these flights often included children. Popular destinations included Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, and Montreal.

While the world economy is a volatile beast, if you are smart you can take advantage of certain aspects of it. This is especially true in travel, where the saying “one man’s trash is another mans treasure” is very true. Canadians may think their dollar is rubbish, but it goes a long way under the right circumstances.

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