2023-06-30 04:00:00
The price of plane tickets has exploded in the last year, but not to the point of discouraging travelers from packing their bags, as many of them want to take to their heels as the long holidays approach.
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The phenomenon even has a name, “revenge travel”, in English.
“People have been so deprived of traveling during the pandemic that an increase is not going to prevent them from leaving and checking off the destinations that appear on their dream list,” said Andrée-Ann Déry, spokesperson for the CAA-Quebec.
The hotel, plane tickets, restaurants, everything costs more. At the CAA, it is estimated that the increases vary around 20%.
A plane ticket in July for a non-stop Quebec-Paris round trip sells for $1,640.67 on Air Transat in economy class, without checked baggage. And it is not the most expensive (see table).
Travelers are thirsty for discovery, but their return to reality is likely to be quite brutal.
“It’s a funny phenomenon because this increase in demand, only on the economic level, should not manifest itself, with the various announcements in relation to the American economy, the job losses, the recession which is profile more and more and the phenomenal increase in household debt,” explains Jacques Nantel, professor emeritus at HEC Montréal.
The craze for travel might therefore be explained by pent-up demand.
“We stretch the elastic. Everyone wants to travel. We want to make up for lost time: “To hell with the expenses”, underlines Mr. Nantel.
Travel on credit
The latter expects a backlash in 2024-2025.
“The majority of trips made by Canadians are on credit. 70% of trips are made on credit. Travel now and pay later”, image M. Nantel.
According to Ms. Déry, the travelers will not help but leave. On the other hand, they will be more inclined to compromise on the activities and the type of accommodation. According to CAA-Quebec, the average budget per vacationer has even increased this year. It went from $848 in 2022 to $1043 in 2023.
“The industry is also recovering. Supply is not necessarily at the same level as demand. This implies that there may also be price increases, ”continues Ms. Déry.
Indeed, for Jacques Nantel, the travel industry is doing “very well”, at least on the demand side, which has returned to its 2019 level. As for the supply, that’s another story.
“All over the world, it is difficult to meet this demand. There are problems with logistics, labor and obviously increased operating costs, so companies are struggling to meet demand and this creates a lot of dissatisfaction,” he said. he adds.
Unheard of to go to Paris
The price of last-minute departures to Paris is exorbitant this year.
“The prices have reached heights that I have not seen since I started in the industry,” says Luc Laflamme, sales manager at Voyage Vasco Spatial, in Quebec, who has 40 years of experience behind the tie. .
For last-minute departures to a destination like Paris, expect to pay an average of $1,600 during the summer.
“What is different, in the past, people who booked at the last minute, had better prices. Now it’s the opposite,” adds Mr. Laflamme.
“When tour operators put their departure dates up for sale, they will offer a lower price to stimulate demand and gradually, with algorithms, prices go up when there is a lot of demand.”
Despite the rise in the price of airline tickets, the travel industry is not in trouble.
“Let’s say people recover for the time lost during the pandemic. There is a demand, without saying abnormal, which is greater than usual.
Mr. Laflamme points out that the pandemic no longer has any effect on travel.
“People say, ‘Hey, my God, prices have gone up!’
“They say, ‘we’re going to tighten our belts and we’re going to save elsewhere, but we’re going the same.'”
Usually, travelers who want to go to Europe in July and August plan their vacations several months in advance, he says.
“The more the plane fills up, the more the prices go up”, adds the specialist at Vasco.
Regarding prices, Mr. Laflamme believes that the situation would be much worse if Transat had been sold to Air Canada.
According to the CAA, 69% of Quebecers want to take a vacation in the coming months, despite the current inflationary context. About 22% plan to fly and 9% want to go to Europe to enjoy their holidays.
Examples of prices
$1687 from July 23 to August 4 direct flight Quebec-Paris
$1708.55 from July 23 to August 4 direct flight Montreal-Paris
$1794.55 from July 22 to August 5 Montreal-Paris flight including bus from Quebec to PE.T.
$1633.67 from July 23 to August 4 flight Quebec-Paris (with stopover in Montreal)
$1640.67 from July 24 to August 5 direct flight Quebec-Paris
$1250.67 from July 23 to August 4 direct flight Montreal-Paris
$1437.67 from July 22 to August 4 direct flight from Quebec City to London
$1475.58 from July 23 to August 4 direct flight Montreal-London
$1573.44 from July 24 to August 4 Quebec-Paris flight with a stopover in Montreal
$1423.55 from July 24 to August 4 direct flight Montreal Paris
$1571.15 from July 24 to August 4 direct flight Montreal-London
$2,117.06 from July 24 to August 4 Quebec-London flight (with stopover in Montreal)
Note: These prices are the result of a search conducted on June 28 for an economy class. The chosen period begins at the start of the construction holiday.
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