Take care to self-care this Self-care Day

International Self-care Day (July 24) is just around the corner, but let’s face it—self-care is a year-round activity that brings in billions of dollars annually to Canadian businesses. The cost of self-care can range from absolutely free to thousands of dollars or more.

A park or green space is almost always nearby—and best of all, it’s free!

Self-care can be something as simple and inexpensive as visiting a nearby park or green space.

In 2021, just over nine in ten (91%) Canadian households had a park or green space close to home, with most (85%) visiting it during the previous year.

Of those households that had visited a park nearby, just over one-third (35%) went once a week or more, while 11% went every day.

Hit the gym or change your hairstyle

What better way to spend Self-care Day than looking after your body by hitting one of the 4,538 fitness and recreational sports centres with employees across Canada.

If sweating is not your style, how about a new hairdo from one of the 1,251 barber shops or 9,295 beauty salons with employees.

In 2021, Canadian households paid an average of $515 for hair grooming services, up from $452 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019.

Dine out at a full-service restaurant

An excellent source of self-care can be found by dining out at a full-service restaurant. In 2022, the most recent year for which annual data are available, sales at full-service restaurants bounced back by one-third (+33.8%) from a year earlier to $38.2 billion, surpassing 2019 levels for the first time since the onset of the pandemic.

Be prepared to pay more, however—Canadians were paying 6.7% more for food purchased from restaurants in 2022 compared with one year earlier and 6.5% more in 2023 compared with the previous year.

Take in a play, musical or dance performance

If you are culturally inclined, why not take in a show at one of the 377 theatres, 108 dance companies or 66 musical theatres with employees?

In 2022, theatre companies reported operating revenue of $582.4 million, up 39.1% from 2020 and 6.5% above pre-pandemic levels in 2018.

Conversely, operating revenue at musical theatre and opera companies totalled $179.3 million in 2022, up 4.7% from 2020 but over one-third lower (-35.2%) compared with 2018.

Dance companies reported operating revenue of $185.9 million in 2022, up by 19.9% from 2020 but 5.6% lower compared with pre-pandemic levels in 2018.

Go camping

Immerse yourself in the curative surroundings of nature at one of the 1,498 recreational vehicle parks and campgrounds across the country.

Some Canadians embraced RV life during the pandemic, with households overall spending an average of $1,144 annually on recreational vehicles and associated services, up 38.5% from 2019 and almost double what was spent in 2017. RVs also include other types of recreational vehicles such as motorcycles, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles and bicycles.