Canada’s Long-Stay Vacation Market Is Thriving

Canadian suppliers and  travel agencies continue to expand the long-stay vacation offerings that have proven popular among Canadian boomers with the time and resources to escape the cold northern winters.

Long-stay vacation bookings typically last three weeks or longer, use condo apartments for accommodations, and include airfare and often extras like a car, excursions and other activities. For travel agents, long-stay bookings translate to healthy commission earnings and the potential for repeat business.

“The people who buy these packages are retired, over 50. They change their residence and go to Portugal or Spain for three months. They have their links there. They know the grocery stores. They usually do it every year,” said Adelino Sales, owner of JM Vacations.

New destinations
Air Canada Vacations, which offers long-stays on Australia’s Gold Coast, is in the process of developing long-stay products for other destinations, including Nice and Menton in the south of France and Malaga and Torremolinos in the south of Spain.

“The advantages of these destinations are that they are not too warm and they offer great cultural experiences and a long list of possible excursions and local areas to visit, not to mention excellent food,” said Philippe Blain, Air Canada Vacations’ director of international product development.

Air Canada Vacations pays 10% to 12% commission on its long-stay vacations. The company’s 24-day air-inclusive package to Australia’s Gold Coast is priced at $3,754 Canadian ($3,637 U.S.),  including taxes and fees.

At JM Vacations, which is well-established in the long-stay market, the most popular destinations are Spain’s Costa del Sol and Portugal’s southern province of Algarve, where there are a great number and variety of apartments, according to Sales.

Agency taps the trend
Travel agencies for the most part sell tour operators’ long-stay products, but Merit Vacations, with branch travel agencies throughout Canada, has established a strong presence in this niche by creating its own programs.

The company has been selling long-stay vacations successfully for 15 years. This year Merit added Tuscany and Panama to a roster of 11 destinations that it already offered in Arizona, Texas, France, Portugal, Spain and Italy.

France, Portugal and Galveston Island have been the most popular long-stay destinations for Merit and have sold out in the past, according to Anna Kovachis, Merit Vacations’ senior manager in charge of product.

While the long-stay market consists of retirees, these vacationers often attract shorter-stay visitors, another possible revenue source for agents. “Although the parents may be going for a long-stay vacation, their children or their children’s children might join them for a week of that time,” said Kovachis.

Bookings start early
Another plus for agents of catering to the long-stay market is that the booking window is quite long.

“Our long-stay brochure went out in June, and by the beginning of July people started booking them. July, August and the beginning of September are the primary booking months,” Kovachis said.

The long-stay market also drives repeat business.

“Sometimes they go back to the same places. Sometimes they want to try something new,” Kovachis said. “I had a gentleman on the independent long-stay Portugal program last year who came back in March, and by the middle of April had a request to go again this year and get the same apartment.”

Range of product
Travel sellers offer both hosted and non-hosted long-stay vacations. At Merit Vacations, hosted trips comprise the bulk of its offering.

Long-stay hosts are experts in the destination country who accompany the group on the flight over and through the length of the trip. The hosts organize an orientation session and are available to answer questions, give advice and facilitate tours.

Merit’s hosted packages typically include four or five full-day excursions. Two of Merit’s long-stay packages also incorporate a seven- or nine-night cruise.

Programs in some destinations include a car, while in other destinations participants have the option of renting one, which 50% do, said Kovachis.

For groups too
In addition to booking individuals on its long-stay packages, Merit Vacations organizes long-stay vacations for groups, including the Retired Teachers of Ontario, for which Merit hosts a travel website.

The company markets its long-stays through chamber organizations, senior hiking groups, and museum and art gallery membership groups, as well as Zoomer magazine, a Canadian publication geared toward 50- plus readers.

The long-stay packages have been successful thanks to a growing boomer demographic and the long Canadian winters. “People are retiring earlier – at 55 to 60 – and they want to be out and about. They don’t want to be home shoveling snow,” Kovachis said.