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In Episode 14 of You Came to the Right Place, TravelPulse Canada’s Natasha Lair and Jen Mallia sit down with Tania Kedikian, Vice President of Tourism at Development Counsellors International (DCI), to unpack new research into the Canadian traveller — where they’re going, what they’re spending and what’s influencing where they go next.
In DCI’s 2023 research, about 40% of Canadians said they were considering the U.S. for a future trip. This year, that number has fallen to 21%. But Canadians aren’t necessarily travelling less — they’re going elsewhere.
Kedikian shares which destinations are benefiting from that shift, why Canadians are travelling farther and staying longer, and how spending habits are changing. The conversation also explores what travellers want from their trips, the differences between affluent and general-market travellers, and how preferences vary across the country.
Tania Kedikian, VP of Tourism at DCI (Photo Credit: DCI)
And there’s another big change happening before travellers even leave home: how they decide where to go. Social media continues to grow as an inspiration source, while AI search engines appeared as their own category in DCI’s research for the first time.
What does all of this mean for travel advisors? Kedikian explains where advisors fit as travellers increasingly turn to new tools for inspiration — and why their expertise still matters.
And in The Pulse Check, Kedikian reveals the plane behaviour that drives her crazy, the travel trend she thinks is officially overhyped and where she’d fly tomorrow.
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Resources Mentioned in This Episode
Development Counsellors International (DCI)
New DCI Data Reveals Major Shift in Canadian Travel
The full report, “Capturing the Canadian Consumer,” is available for purchase.
ABOUT THE HOSTS
Between them, Natasha Lair and Jen Mallia bring more than four decades of media and travel editorial experience to the mic. Ontario-based Natasha, Managing Editor of TravelPulse Canada, is warm, funny and deeply curious, known for finding the human angle and cutting through industry spin with factual, unbiased reporting. Edmonton-based Jen, Senior Editor and travel media expert, pairs two decades of travel editorial experience with charm, quick wit and sharp industry insight. From Central Canada to the West, they’ve got their ears to the ground, delivering real talk, smart analysis and just enough sarcasm to keep it interesting.
ABOUT THE SHOW
You Came to the Right Place is a Canadian travel industry podcast from TravelPulse Canada. Expect smart conversation, insider context, and the kind of straight talk that doesn’t always make it into a press release. Each episode blends candid conversations between two editors, interviews with industry leaders, advisors, destination execs, and the people behind the stories we publish.
If you work in travel, you came to the right place.
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