Canadian travellers may be ill-prepared for injuries or sickness abroad, according to a new survey. The Travel Health Insurance Association (THIA) of Canada says nearly half of respondents polled say they trust travel health information they see on social media. “There’s a concerning credibility gap in how the generation that’s most likely to travel is learning about protecting their physical and financial health while abroad,” says Will McAleer, THIA spokesperson, in a news release. According to the association’s data, 74 per cent of Gen Z Canadians plan to travel this year, leading the country’s travel surge. For Boomers, just 54 per cent reported planning to travel. McAleer points to concerns with Gen Z’s travel intentions and potential knowledge gaps around travel protection. “Your ForYou algorithm can be a starting point but anyone planning to travel should understand what kind of health coverage they need or already have from their parents’ credit cards, group benefits plans,” he says. He tells CTV News Atlantic youth tend to have a different approach to travelling. “With the younger demographics, it’s ‘Hey, this won’t happen to me,’ type of mentality. ‘I feel good now, I should be fine.’ They’re missing the fact that oftentimes emergencies can strike,” he says. The THIA’s 2026 Smart Traveller Survey also shows Gen Z is most likely to participate in risky travel activities at 87 per cent, with one in four saying they would participate in an extreme sport while travelling. “At the same time, 40 per cent say they would travel without purchasing travel health insurance,” reads the news release. The THIA’s survey was undertaken by the Harris Poll Canada, running on March 27 with 1,527 random Canadian respondents. With summer getaways, music festivals and trending destinations driving travel decisions among younger Canadians, McAleer hopes to warn travellers against misconceptions facing Gen Z and Millennials to avoid costly surprises abroad. For Brampreet Sachdeva, one of these surprises looked like a hospital bill during a six-month internship in Alberta. “I had a throat infection. I was taken to the hospital and my bull came out to be $9,600,” he says. He says he had medical insurance that covered the full cost of his emergency. “It was a great relief because, to be honest, I couldn’t afford it at all out of pocket. If I didn’t have insurance... I would’ve had to pay it and leave the country because I couldn’t afford anything else,” says Sachdeva. With files from CTV News Atlantic’s Vanessa Wright
