Quebec's top summer 2026 destination was revealed and it's not in the US (or even Europe)
Summer travel plans are taking shape across Quebec, and where people are actually booking flights might surprise you.
New data from flight booking platform FlightHub, which tracked round-trip international departures from Montreal for travel between June 1 and August 31, reveals that Morocco is the most popular destination among Quebec travellers this summer. It's the first time the North African country has claimed the top spot, overtaking the United States, which held it in 2025.
Morocco now accounts for 12% of all international bookings out of Quebec, while the US slipped two points to 10%.
France, long the default European pick for French-speaking Quebecers, dropped to 6%. Portugal held steady at 5%, and Tunisia rounded out the top five, also at 5%.
Where exactly are Quebecers flying?
The single most booked international route out of Montreal in both 2025 and 2026 is Montreal to Casablanca, and it's driving Morocco's rise. An average roundtrip on that route currently runs $1,508 CAD, actually down about $63 from last summer, even as demand grew. That the route got cheaper and more popular at the same time points to something beyond price shopping, with community and cultural ties likely playing a significant role.
North Africa as a whole is pulling in more Quebec travellers. Morocco and Tunisia together now represent 17% of all summer bookings, up from 15% in 2025, meaning the trend isn't concentrated at the top of the rankings but spreading across the region.
What does the trip actually cost?
Paris is by far the most affordable destination in the top five, with an average roundtrip from Montreal sitting at $958 CAD. That's well under $1,000, yet France still lost market share year over year, which says a lot about what's actually driving these booking decisions.
Tunis comes in at $1,355 CAD roundtrip, while Algiers averages $1,357, up more than 5% from last summer. Beirut is the priciest option on the list at $1,847 CAD roundtrip, more than double what a Paris ticket costs, though that's actually down $112 from 2025.
Who's doing the booking?
Millennials and Gen X together account for roughly two-thirds of all departures out of Quebec this summer. Millennials held steady at 33%, while Gen X dipped three points to 32%. FlightHub notes that Gen X has historically over-indexed on US travel due to proximity and familiarity, so their slight pullback lines up with the broader decline in US bookings. The gender split, for what it's worth, reached near-perfect parity in 2026, landing at exactly 50/50.
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