23 MAY 2012:  There’s no question that Canadians like to veg-out on the beach for their holidays. All you have to do is to look at our big three holiday destinations – Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Mexico.  Sun, sea and sand – that’s bliss – Canadian style.

Expedia’s Flip Flop report, a global survey that measured beachgoer behaviours and preferences across five continents, pretty well confirmed that, by reporting that 45% of Canadians say they prefer a beach vacation to all other types of vacations, far ahead of the global average of 33%.

Among other Flip Flop findings:

•    The majority of Canadians surveyed said they would prefer to hit the beach for some relaxing downtime – 72% compared to 54% globally

•    Canadians aren’t crowding sea sides to go ‘full-Monty” with only 5% of adults surveyed saying they have hit the beach in only their birthday suits (and hopefully a smile!)

Provincial differences also came to light with the global survey:

Though 45% of Canadians would chose a beach holiday if they could only take one vacation this year, the second choice among regions differed greatly.  Quebecers were the least likely of all Canadians to choose a beach vacation (38%), but were the most likely to opt to visit family or relatives (16%) on their holiday, higher than the national average of 9%.

British Columbians at 18% would prefer to go on a romantic holiday with a spouse or partner, compared to only 10% nationally.  

Though Canadians overall weren’t likely to shed all for full-body tan, those in British Columbia at 8% were slightly above the national average of 5% to having sunbathed nude.

When asked what activities they have participated on while on a beach vacation, Albertans it seemed were all about the water. Of Albertans surveyed, 54% have gone snorkelling, compared to the national average of 34%; 26% have gone whale watching (versus 17% national average); 20% have gone sailing or kayaking while another 22% have gone fishing (both higher than the national average of 14% and 13% respectively).

“Canadians spend a great deal of their vacation time at the beach – in fact 55% of those surveyed said they planned on taking a beach holiday within the year so being able to offer them the selection to easily customize their dream beach vacation is a top priority for us,” said Sean Shannon, vice president and managing director of Expedia Canada.

“To help Canadian sun-seekers find the perfect beach vacation, we’ve created a value-packed summer sale with savings of up to 30% off amazing beach destinations and unrivalled deals on vacation packages.”

When asked where in the world Canadians would like to travel to for a beach vacation 18% chose the Caribbean, 14% Hawaii, Australia came in third at 10% and Europe placed fourth at 8%.