Flight Hub Study Reveals Domestic Travel Booming

Canadian travel patterns are shifting in a meaningful way heading into 2025, with new data from FlightHub revealing a significant upswing in domestic demand and evolving international preferences.

Domestic bookings are seeing strong momentum, fuelled by lower fares and increased interest from younger travellers, while long-haul international travel continues to show resilience.

Domestic Travel Booms; Up 21%

Domestic travel is experiencing a major resurgence, with bookings up 21 percentage points year-over-year as more Canadians opt to explore destinations within their own borders. British Columbia leads the pack as the top provincial destination, capturing 30% of domestic travel share, while Alberta’s portion dipped slightly.

The most-booked domestic route for New Year’s 2025 is Edmonton (YEA) to Toronto (YTO), highlighting strong cross-country demand.

Gen Z travellers are driving much of this growth, representing 47% of domestic bookings — the largest generational share and an increase from last year. Their preference for budget-friendly, adventure-focused and local experiences aligns squarely with the surge in domestic exploration.

Lower Domestic Fares Help Drive Demand

A notable drop in domestic fares is also fuelling the boom. The average domestic ticket price fell 12%, declining from $292 in 2024 to $256 in 2025. Fares decreased in nearly every major Canadian city, with Winnipeg (YWG) as the only exception, posting a modest 0.4% increase.

Low prices, combined with added domestic capacity and strong regional tourism marketing, are helping keep more Canadians at home for the holidays.

International Travel Levels Off, With Shifts in Destinations

While domestic travel surges, international New Year’s bookings remain flat year-over-year. The United States continues to rank as the top international destination for Canadians, though its share dipped slightly from 24% to 21%.

Meanwhile, the Philippines and Mexico both gained ground, reflecting growing Canadian interest in Asia and Latin America — trends supported by expanded air service and falling fares to these regions.

Generational preferences also shifted this year, with Gen X (29%) edging out Millennials (28%) as the leading segment for international travel, after both groups tied at 26% in 2024.

Long-Haul Travel On the Rise

One of the most notable changes is a shift toward long-haul travel for the New Year’s period. The most-booked international route moved from Montréal–Fort Lauderdale to Toronto–Delhi, underscoring strong VFR (visiting friends and relatives) demand and the growing importance of South Asian travel markets.

International Fares Decline Across Key Markets

Lower prices abroad are supporting this renewed long-haul appeal. Average fares dropped across several major international destinations:

• Mexico: down 10%
• Philippines: down 8%
• Vietnam: down 5%

**Bookings as of November 12th, 2025 for travel during the 2025-2026 New Year’s period (Dec 30 > Jan 2) and compared to the same period last year (2024-2025)