TORONTO — This is the year for revenge travel, says metasearch travel booking engine KAYAK, as it presents its 2023 Travel Trends Forecast.

KAYAK’s report shows a nearly 100% increase in flight searches in Canada year over year. That compares to the 64% increase in the U.S., which reopened to outbound travel earlier than Canada did.

“After nearly three years of lockdowns and travel restrictions, travel is back in a big way,” says KAYAK’s Senior Country Manager Leon Mulder. “With heightened interest for international travel, it’s clear Canadians aren’t just planning a quick weekend getaway, they are hungry for bucket list trips to make up for lost time.”

The recent reopening of many Asian destinations, coupled with strong demand from VFR markets, has put Manila (+287% YoY increase in searches), Tokyo (+279% YoY), and Bangkok (+229% YoY) at the top of KAYAK’s trending international destinations.

KAYAK data is also showing flights to some coastal destinations are cheaper than last year such as Melbourne (-10% YoY decrease in airfare), Copenhagen (-8% YoY), Croatia (5% YoY) and Greece (-3% YoY).

Other findings from KAYAK’s report include …

• Staycations are on their way out. Searches for accommodations domestically are up 10% compared to last year while international stays reign supreme with searches up 94% compared to last year.
• Data from KAYAK shows rental car searches by Canadians are up both internationally (78% YoY) and domestically (4% YoY) compared to car rental searches downshifting in the U.S. (down 3% vs. last year).
• Canadians are becoming more comfortable with booking travel further in advance, with the average flight booking window increasing by 21% for domestic travel and 14% for international travel compared to last year. That’s more than a month for domestic flights (44 days in advance) and approximately two months (56-64 days in advance) for international destinations.

To learn more about this year’s top travel predictions, click here.