Playing around a bit more with Google Trends, a few interesting patterns emerge in terms of the link between a traveler's preferred activities and their online planning habits.

For example, US visitors planning a golf vacation to Canada appear to only get serious about their plans once the golf season begins.  Take a look at this chart showing search volume for "Canada golf" originating our of the US over a three-year period:



The majority of golfers appear to make golfing vacation plans only after they've swung the clubs a few times at home.  California and the border states dominate the top 10.  In this 1-year snapshot from 2006, you can see that search engine volumes only pick up at the beginning of April:



Avid American fishermen, on the other hand, don't necessarily plan earlier but their interest in fishing in Canada is sustained over a longer period owing to the Spring fishing season and the relative popularity of ice fishing:



Interest begins to wane in July and doesn't pick up again until mid-November.  Interest tends to be centred on the border states, though Texas does appear on the top 10 list.

American skiers heading North for better snow tend to begin their search in early September with very little travel planning done through the summer months when their minds are on anything but snow.  Interest peaks at Christmas time, perhaps due to both Christmas and Spring Break travel planning.



Washington state, the Boston area, Washington and New York City display the most interest in a Canadian ski vacation.

It stands to reason that there are a lot more Americans planning and searching for these same activities during the same periods.  If we can reach them online with a compelling and relevant message about Canada as they begin to explore their options, we should see some spikes in these same charts next year.






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