EDMONTON- It appears more and more Edmontonians are trading their winter boots and mittens for sandals and sunglasses.
"I'm going to Maui, Hawaii," Edmontonian Kathy said as she checked in for her flight at the Edmonton International Airport (EIA) Sunday morning.
While December is a busy month at EIA for holiday travel, officials say they see a peak in the number of people heading to warmer climates in January.
"A lot of folks going to Phoenix, Vegas, Cancun, all over Mexico and Cuba, for example," said Traci Bednard a spokesperson with EIA.
Another hot spot that has been increasingly popular this year is Hawaii.
"We actually just conducted a survey in November with our members, and right now more than 35 percent of our members are looking to go to Hawaii this winter, which is an increase over Mexico by about 25 percent," explained Nikola Berube, Director of Marketing and Business Development at the Alberta Motor Association (AMA) in Edmonton.
"I have never been (to Hawaii), so I'm very excited," said Kathy, who is most looking forward to relaxing on the beach.
Over 49,000 international passengers and more than 93,000 trans-border travellers took off from EIA last January alone, seeking refuge in warmer climates.
As a result, additional services out of EIA have been added this year.
"They have added addition services to Cuba, for example. We've also seen the number of times during the week that those sun destinations operate increase, and we've seen larger aircraft on certain routes. So, all of those things are signs from the airline that the Edmonton demand is strong into those sun spots," explained Bednard.
January is also the AMA's busiest month for booking holidays to sunny destinations.
"It stimulates everyone's well being and happiness at home. It's good to take a break and get away with friends and family and create some fun memories," she explained.
For Kathy, it's especially nice to take that break when the temperature in Edmonton is minus 25 degrees celcius.
"You're trying to get your car started and brushing off the snow and slipping on the ice. I'm like, I'm out of here, it's time to go," she said with a laugh.
Kathy says she also has trips to Mexico and New York planned for later this year.
With files from Shannon Greer, Global News.
© Global News. A division of Shaw Media Inc., 2013.