The whole “51^st state” thing has prompted many Canadians to change their travel plans and avoid vacationing south of the border.

So where, Save with SPP asks, are they going instead?

The National Post reports that trips to the U.S. by Canadians by air dropped 24.2 per cent in May 2025 compared to one year earlier.

“Return trips from overseas countries rose 9.8 per cent to 1.1 million. Meanwhile, Canadian resident return trips from the U.S. by automobile totalled 1.3 million, down 38.1 per cent compared with May 2024,” the Post adds.

If not the U.S., where are we going?

According to TravelWeek, citing stats from Booking.com, many of us are choosing to travel within our own country.

Trips to Kelowna and Canmore are up by 61 per cent over last year, and for Banff, Canadian travel has increased by 45 per cent, the publication reports.

“Family travel is on the rise, with 90 per cent of Canadian parents planning at least one domestic trip, and 81 per cent planning at least one international trip this year. Europe is the top pick for international travel among parents (48 per cent), followed by Asia at 21 per cent,” the publication notes.

Besides the afore-mentioned Kelowna, Canmore and Banff, the top Canadian travel destinations this year are “Halifax, Calgary, Toronto, Vancouver, Quebec City, Montreal and Niagara Falls,” TravelWeek reports.

“Among global destinations, the top choices are Paris (France), Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt), Tokyo (Japan), Dubai (UAE), Bangkok (Thailand), Alicante (Spain), Nice (France), Malaga (Spain), Rimini (Italy) and Dubrovnik (Croatia),” the publication adds.

Blog.to suggests a few travel destinations where your “Canadian dollars go further than in the U.S.”

In Argentina, the Canadian dollar is worth 746 Argentinian pesos, the article notes.

“Anyone looking to go to Argentina can get a 15 to 20 per cent better return on their Canadian dollar than they would have if they went a year ago,” Knightsbridge Foreign Exchange President Rahim Madhavji tells Blog.to.

In Brazil, where a loonie is worth nearly four reals, “you’re getting a seven to eight per cent discount” thanks to a favourable exchange rate, states Madhavji.

Other countries where the exchange rate works in Canadians’ favour include Mexico, Turkey, South Korea and Japan, he states in the article.

There were many, many Canadians on board during our recent cruise to the British Isles and Ireland, and those we talked to agreed that they weren’t vacationing Stateside as long as annexation talk continues.

Travelling, even if the exchange rate is pretty good, still costs money. And if you are travelling while retired, more income may mean more travel. Did you know that you can consolidate any existing registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) accounts you may have within your Saskatchewan Pension Plan account? Any amount from a non-locked in RRSP can be transferred in, increasing your overall savings nest egg.

SPP will then grow your savings via professional investment in our low-cost, pooled fund. When it is time to pack up your suitcase in retirement, you’ll be able to count on income from SPP, which delivers you the option of a lifetime monthly annuity payment or the more flexible Variable Benefit.

Check out SPP today!

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