Canadian Snowbirds: Who’s Playing What Game?
An article published by CBC News on September 30th, Why some snowbirds are still heading south this winter despite COVID-19 and a closed land border, starts by centering on the decision by one Canadian snowbird to go on her annual trip to Florida this winter. For context, a different CBC News article states that approximately 350,000 Canadians travel south of the border every year. Obviously this common extended vacation mostly enjoyed by seniors who’re avoiding the discomfort and dangers of winter is being interrupted by Covid-19. Snowbirds have to consider the benefits and risks of staying in a country with lower rates of infection or traveling to another country without the hazards of winter. In addition to Covid infection and winter risks, snowbirds have to consider their mode of transportation; many snowbirds habitually travel by car, but this may not be possible. The US-Canada land border closed to non-essential travel in late March and the closure has been extended until at least late October, although it is suspected the closure will be extended again. Entering the US by air travel is still allowed at this point, but does not serve snowbirds well. The benefits of driving down include having a car at their winter homes and also being able to transport more household items. These are both concerns cited by the snowbird in the CBC article, however she states that she plans on going to Florida even if she must fly.
This article raised many questions about how snowbirds will make their decisions to travel this winter. Referring to game theory, snowbirds could be entrenched in different games with complex payoffs. For example, snowbirds could be a player in a game with the American communities set to receive them. The snowbirds’ options would be (A) travel or (B) not travel, and the American communities’ options would be (A) accept the foreigners or (B) close community to foreigners. At this point it is unclear how many Canadian snowbirds will make the trip down south. Conversely, it seems that most American communities (namely in Florida, California and Arizona) will not hesitate to accept the repeated business of snowbirds. Focusing on the snowbirds as the article does, I struggled to conceptualize their complicated, nuanced payoffs in all four game-related outcomes. After studying a number of keystone games, like the hawk-dove game and the battle of the sexes, I was surprised by how when I considered my own game, each snowbird’s payoffs felt entirely unique. Some snowbirds can’t afford the new costs of traveling, nor the increased insurance rates. Others, like the one in this article, don’t have winterized homes within which to stay if they choose not to travel. Overall, the Canadian snowbirds can be viewed as players engaged in games with local organizations or even federal governments (i.e. Canadian/American travel restrictions), but the payoffs can be trickier to weigh than I once imagined.