Investments come in many different categories. It might be time that the family vacation be considered one of them.

The return is something you look forward to for months and look back on with fondness, a better frame of mind and happiness that ultimately lead to more success.

Like any investment, it can end up underwater, due to external forces over which you had no control.

No doubt there are smirks out there about cancelled Cuba and now Mexico trips from those who haven’t bought into the boycott-the-United-States campaign, a real phenomenon that continues to impact the tourism industry south of the border.

Let’s put away the politics for a minute and think about the reality that life events are uncertain. Mexico is the latest. Violent instability has left vacationers stranded in the tourist hotspot of Puerto Vallarta and other regions now under a level-three travel advisory from Ottawa, which recommends avoiding all non-essential

travel . Anita Emilio, executive vice-president for Flight Centre Canada, said the winter season is always a busy time for travel, but the last few days of unrest in Mexico have left some of their customers sheltering in place while flights to the region are being reinstated.

Tour operators and airlines are offering some flexibility and options for people with future trips to the area. “Sometimes it is a refund, and sometimes it is a future travel credit,” said Emilio. “At the moment, it’s a fluid situation where we are awaiting updates as they come.”

Customers are now considering other warm weather options, such as Costa Rica and The Bahamas. Flight Centre has seen a decline of 25 per cent to 40 per cent decline in bookings in U.S. tourism from Canada this year.

Call me cynical, but while I believe in Canadian pride, I do believe price is a major driver in vacation plans, even as they have been derailed to places like Cuba, too. But even a cheaper vacation still costs money, and full credit to Emilio for calling these trips an investment.

Increasingly people are buying some sort of trip insurance with Flight Centre, with 35 per cent to 40 per cent buying it when booking through the company, something that doesn’t factor in policies they might have through credit cards or other programs, Emilio said.

“We always recommend protecting the investment of your trip,” said Emilio, noting some trips are planned months in advance to get a cheaper fare. “Something quite small, like an ear infection, can cut your travel.”

Health insurance feels like a must because of the catastrophic financial consequences of a major medical event, but you can also buy trip cancellation or trip interruption to hedge your bets on bad events. Like any hedge or option, it will cost you.

Today, those people buying insurance policies look like geniuses, but that’s the way it always is with insurance. The premium always feels like a steal when the policy pays out, and wasted money when it doesn’t.

“It’s a mess,” said Martin Firestone, president of Travel Secure Insurance Inc., about the situation in Mexico. Protecting against these kinds of events with cancellation and trip interruption is not cheap — policies can add maybe 10 per cent to the cost of a trip.

But here’s the thing: once you have the policy, you are less at the mercy of your airline or vacation company for a credit. Bought your trip from a third-party site? I wish you luck getting a hold of a human.

“If you bought trip cancellation, and it was Puerto Vallarta, you have the trigger mechanism to have everything covered,” said Firestone, adding you will get a full refund and have no need to go cap in hand to a tour travel agency. “It’s one thing for the airfare to be refunded because airlines are not travelling, but who is paying for the cruise you were supposed to take at Puerto Vallarta?”

Basically, for every $10,000 of vacation, your insurance would have cost you $1,000, but that includes trip interruption. “You have three extra days of hotels and food (or more), who is going to cover those rooms?” said Firestone, adding, if you did buy insurance, track all your receipts. “I have clients down there now and they keep telling me it is pretty scary.”

One thing to keep in mind if you are planning a trip to a place such as Mexico City, which is only under a level-two travel advisory warning visitors to “exercise a high degree of caution,” is that this is not enough to trigger a refund even if you don’t feel comfortable.

“Nothing is based on your feelings or whether you are concerned. It’s just not up to you,” said Firestone, who says cancel-for-any-reason policies are even pricier and usually only return 50 per cent of your money anyway.

Feeling uneasy about your trip and want to add trip cancellation/trip interruption to a vacation you purchased months ago? Check with the insurer, but be ready for that to raise flags if you try to make a claim.

Firestone expects insurers will likely expand the number of regions in Mexico that are uninsurable, but believes Cancun will not be affected.

There’s another option or hedge for a winter vacation: staying in Canada. Not a stay-at-home vacation, but a domestic one.

Monique Rosszell, senior managing partner of the travel consultancy firm HVS Global Hospitality Services, said the phenomenon is real, based on demand through the end of January.

“Its mind boggling, absolutely mind-boggling,” said Rosszell.

Nationally, January occupancy was 50 per cent in 2025, and it has climbed to 51.5 per cent this year. That might not sound much, but it has driven average hotel rates from $180.53 to $ 188.98.

The all-important term in the hotel industry, known as revenue per available room or RevPAR, has climbed by eight per cent over the past year. Canadian hotels are firing on all cylinders. Atlantic Canada saw an 11.5 per cent jump in RevPAR, while the Prairies saw a 12 per cent jump. Ontario and Quebec only saw four per cent growth.

“I have spoken to clients, and they say staying here is not a political decision but a moral decision,” said Rosszell, noting RevPAR in the luxury segment has climbed more than 15 per cent in the past year. “They are going and discovering different experiences. There are all kinds of resorts that offer dog sledding. It’s the coolest thing in the world.”

That might be a little too cool for my taste, but the Canadian vacation does look increasingly like a mostly risk-free experience from world disorder, with health coverage and something that doesn’t require the same hedging.

The rest of the world? Have fun. But remember, your vacation is a major investment, and you probably need to consider how best to protect it.

  • Trips to the U.S. by Canadians down 25.4% last year compared to 2024
  • Alberta’s tourism sector outperforms rest of Canada with record spending, U.S. visitors rising