Canadian Travellers Flock to Canada/ US Border Airports

[Kip Powick]

MONTREAL—Canada’s hotel industry issued a new call Wednesday for government to reduce taxes and airport fees to stem the growing exodus of travellers who begin their vacations by first going to the United States to avoid higher domestic surcharges.

Nearly one-third of Canadian leisure travellers may first drive to the U.S. before flying to another U.S. destination or internationally, says a new Hotel Association of Canada survey.

Last year, 21 per cent of Canadians hopped the border, up from 18 per cent in 2009, according to an association survey.

Thirty-two per cent of the 1,600 Canadians surveyed said they would also consider making the trek in 2011, in part because of the strong loonie.

“When you are looking at roughly five million Canadians going down there, that’s lost revenue for everything from the airlines to the airports to hotels to restaurants and that flow needs to be stopped and be reversed,” says association president Tony Pollard.

The number of people who are driving to U.S. cities such as Plattsburgh, N.Y.; Burlington, Vt.; Buffalo, N.Y.; Bangor, Me.; Fargo, N.D.; and Seattle, Wash., equals the annual traffic out of the airports in Ottawa or Halifax.

Pollard said the government can increase its revenues if lower airport fees, fuel excise taxes and airline surcharges can convince millions of Canadians to fly from their home cities.

The travel industry has long pleaded without much success for the government to reduce taxes and fees.

“Good policy is based on good research and this is good research, so I’m hopeful that the government of Canada will take note of it,” Pollard said in an interview.

The savings from driving an hour or so to fly out of a U.S. airport can be substantial.

Montrealers departing in two weeks for a week-long trip to Orlando, Fla., for example, would pay twice as much to fly from Pierre Trudeau International Airport than from Burlington, Vt.

A mid-week round-trip Air Canada flight from Montreal to Orlando costs $629, including $137 in fees, taxes and surcharges. Star Alliance partner United Airways offers a trip from Burlington to Orlando for $308 (U.S.), including $42.80 in taxes and fees.

Governments extracted $6.9 billion out of Canadian airports over the last decade. Starting to reduce that number could encourage U.S. low-cost carriers like JetBlue, Vision and Spirit to offer service from Canada, Pollard added.

“What we need to do is change this mind set of constantly taking money from Canadian airports and Canadian travellers.”

A recent study commissioned by the National Airlines Council of Canada, which represents airlines like Air Canada, WestJet, Air Transat and Jazz, found that Ontario could create jobs, attract thousands more tourists and stimulate its economy by eliminating taxes on aviation fuel for transborder and international flights.

Removal of the fuel tax on international flights could also improve Pearson Airport’s chances of becoming among North America’s leading international gateway airports, said a report prepared by Fred Lazar, a professor at the Schulich School of Business at York University.

Pollard said the growing use of the Internet is making it easier for travellers to shop and compare fares.

Business travellers use the web to gather information before they book travel.

[boestar]

Why can't the idiots in office see this. Lowley laypaople like me can see it. This country is going to hell and the only thing that will stop it is responsible government and a strong leader. We have neither and no viable options.