MOST Canadians and Americans are unwilling to become tourists again during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new two-country Research Co. poll has found.

In the online survey of representative national samples, majorities of residents of Canada and the United States say they would not travel in nine different ways before there is a vaccine against COVID-19.

“The appetite for travel before a COVID-19 vaccine is readily available is low in Canada and the United States,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “North American residents aged 55 and over, who are usually ready to explore and spend, are particularly reticent about all journeys unless inoculation is a reality.”

In Canada, more than a third of respondents (35%) are currently  willing to take a ferry trip—a proportion that rises to 50% in Atlantic Canada and 49% in British Columbia.

Fewer than a third of Canadians would take an airplane flight within their own province (32%), a bus trip shorter than 3 hours (31%), an airplane flight to another province (30%) or a railway trip (29%) without inoculation against COVID-19.

Significantly fewer Canadians are willing to take an airplane flight to a different continent (21%), a bus trip longer than 3 hours  (20%),  an airplane flight to the United States (17%) or a trip on a cruise ship (13%).

More than a third of Americans say they are willing to take a railway trip (36%), an airplane flight within their own state (35%), an airplane flight to another state (34%) or a ferry trip (also 34%) before a vaccine against COVID-19 is available.

Fewer Americans would entertain five other forms of travel under the current conditions: a bus trip shorter than 3 hours (31%), an airplane flight to Canada (28%), a bus trip longer than 3 hours (25%), an airplane flight to a different continent (21%) and a trip on a cruise ship (also 21%).

There is a sizeable gender gap when Americans are asked about travel, with men saying they are more likely to travel without a vaccine than their female counterparts.

Results are based on online studies conducted from July 1 to July 5 among representative samples of 1,000 adults in Canada and 1,200 adults in the United States. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is +/- 3.1 percentage points for Canada and +/- 2.8 percentage points for the United States.