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Caution remains the watchword for Canadian travellers. Still anxious after the global recession, insecurity plagues local travel sentiment. However, many international tourism markets are recovering their vigour, and although not fully returned to the economic sunlit uplands, they are well on the way there.

These are some the findings in the May 2010 issue of the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC)’s Tourism Intelligence Bulletin, a key piece of the global jigsaw for the tourism industry. This latest 28-page report draws on tourism intelligence gathered in March and April 2010. 

Some bulletin highlights:

• Should I stay or should I go? Although economic conditions are improving in Canada, locals remain cautious over their summer travel plans, according to the latest Travel Intentions Survey by The Canadian Tourism Research Institute for The Conference Board of Canada.

• Americans are more pessimistic about their economy. The latest travelhorizons survey by the U.S. Travel Association and Ypartnership notes low consumer confidence and weak travel intentions, even compared with 2009.

• Most UK tour operators have recovered their inner bull. A recent survey of independent operators by Wanderlust travel magazine and The Association of Independent Tour Operators reports expectations of bookings to rise in Q2 2010.

• German travel agencies saw a 16% bump in airline ticket sales and a 10% leap in leisure travel sales in March 2010. Market research firm GfK also indicated summer bookings are up 8% on 2009.

• However, French travel agencies report a different picture. The European Travel Commission’s Trends & Prospects report tells of a gloomy business outlook.

• Japanese outbound travel is recovering well, according to the latest survey by the Japanese Association of Travel Agents (JATA). Asian destinations feature strongly, but Canada and the US are also back on the radar.

• One last sunny story: Hana Tour Services Inc., South Korea’s largest travel agency, is witnessing a dramatic turnaround. So fast and strong has been travel demand in the first quarter of 2010 that the company has been unable to match consumer demand. 

Read the May 2010 Tourism Intelligence Bulletin in full.