Snowbirds Faced Icy Cold and Travel Snarls, says Industry
Marco Patrone, Peel Daily News
Some snowbirds heading to Florida for warmer weather may be in for a shock when they realize how cold it is there. The eastern seaboard of the U.S has been hammered with a massive winter storm dumping 35cm of snow in some areas and sending temperatures plummeting. Travel has been a nightmare with 5,000 flights grounded due to weather conditions but there are signs Canadians are headed south anyway. Mississauga resident Clover Sterling is planning a trip to Jamaica in March and isn’t normally deterred by bad weather.
“I like to get away every four months,” she told Peel Weekly News. “Anytime I’m can go soak up the free vitamind, I go.”
Sterling isn’t alone. Thousands of Canadians are planning a getaway but the recent storm hitting the U.S eastern and southern states may complicate things.
“The eastern seaboard getting slammed is a big deal,” says Marco Pozzobon speaking for the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies.
“For people going to Florida, people getting out of Florida it’s not your traditional weather there. People who were booked in advance are going to Florida and going ‘wow’ it’s pretty cold over here.”
Temperatures hit a low of -34C with the wind-chill as a wide swath of the U.S dealt with near hurricaneforce winds.
In some cases, Canadians who pre-booked a flight looking for relief from winter could be facing conditions worse than our own in depending on where they are headed.
“Some of the traditional snowbirds have retirement residences in the U.S (in Florida) where they go every year. Snowbirds are typically pre-booked in advance; they have a property or a location they go to every year. There’s not much they can do,” Pozzobon told the Peel Weekly News.
Al Budhwani, a VP with Travelnation in Mississauga, says Canadians who had been holding off are now booking their flights south.
“Some consumers who had been sitting on the fence in regards to taking a holiday this winter are now jumping to make a decision to want to go down south with all the heavy cold temperatures we’re dealing with."
Those making spur-of-the-moment travel plans may consider looking further south to the Caribbean if they want to escape the wintery weather.
Pozzobon says he’s not aware of massive cancellations by Canadians who had planned a vacation south.
This time of year, Canadians weary of the cold look for travel bargains and this winter is no exception.
“Extreme cold is good for the travel industry, for sure. It is the industry joke, when it is cold; people are going to be traveling. They’re going to want to get out of here. As Canadians, our yearly trip is a birthright and if you’ve planned a week at time to get away, they were going anyway.”
According to a 2017 survey, almost a quarter of respondents between the ages of 18 to 34 expected to spend up to $2000.00 during their winter vacation.