Fewer Canadians taking vacations this summer

We’re now into the peak summer travel season and a new survey shows nearly half of Canadians say they won’t be travelling very far.

Niagara Falls’ Clifton Hill has been jammed with visitors, many of them from the GTA who say high gas prices, high room rates and a shaky economy are keeping them closer to home this summer.

“I’ve been unemployed for the last 19 months and I’ve been applying for positions, unable to get any kind of position.”

Shellene Ramkhelawan’s family from Mississauga stayed overnight in Niagara Falls. Last summer, they did a long road trip to Disney World.

A survey done by the website RetailMeNot.ca shows 42% of Canadians are staying home this summer. Niagara Falls is seeing a drop in tourists from Ontario.

“I’ve talked to mainly the attractions. Some of them are down as much as 20%, which would indicate people are not travelling,” says Wayne Thomson of Niagara Falls Tourism.

If you live in the Niagara Peninsula you don’t have to spend a lot of money entertaining the family if you don’t want to. It’s sandwiched in between two Great Lakes. In Port Colborne, Nickel Beach is one of the best sandy beaches in the country.

Meanwhile, if there’s some good economic news it’s that Niagara Falls is seeing more Americans this summer. Many people are visiting from states that are quite a distance away.

They attribute that to Nik Wallenda and his walk over the Horseshoe Falls.

Editor’s note: This article was updated July 23, 2014 to correct an error in the RetailMeNot website.