Booking with agents revealed as top confidence booster for travellers
Ilaria Grasso MacolaPeople who have booked with a travel agent, as well as those who have chosen a package holiday, are among the most confident travelling abroad this year.
Figures published by Abta on Monday (30 October) as part of its first-ever Travel Confidence Index shows that having a safety net is giving people the confidence necessary to go on holiday abroad post-pandemic and amid the cost of living crisis.
The index reveals a score of +72 for those who have booked with a professional compared with an average of +41 across UK consumers.
There was also heightened confidence among people who have chosen a package holiday in the past year, registering a score of +70 on the index, while those aged between 25 and 34 scored +53 and families +52. Brits aged 65 and over are among the least confident to travel this year, scoring 33 points, the data shows.
“Given the extreme heat and wildfires in some holiday destinations this year, and that the Nats outage happened during the period we interviewed respondents, a score of 41 does show some remarkable positivity among the UK population,” said Abta’s director of communications Graeme Buck.
Buck added the index, issued on the eve of Abta’s Travel Convention in Bodrum this week, highlighted the importance of the association. “A fundamental part of Abta’s role is to help people ‘travel with confidence’ and is one of the reasons why people respect the Abta brand so much,” he said.
Being insured (54%), as well as having Abta protection (47%) and Atol protection (41%), ranked high on the list of factors that boost travellers’ confidence.
However, for travellers, the knowledge they could get home if their travel company went bust (which 53% deemed essential), knowing the total price of their holiday in advance (49%) and having financial protection in place (also 49%) edged ahead of Abta and Atol protections as essential for their confidence.
Top of the list of confidence essentials for Brits was having their documents in order when travelling abroad with 67%.
Despite the confidence boost among those who booked with a travel professional, just 18% of consumers said booking with someone who can offer knowledge and advice was essential to their reassurance, although a further 42% said this was "important" to them.
More value was placed on the travel company they booked having a "reputable name", with 29% deeming this essential and 46% stating this was important to them.
"Travel companies can clearly add significant value by helping their customers get their travel documents in order for their trip, whether that’s making sure they have a valid passport or visa or taking out travel insurance," said Abta in its accompanying report.
"Other essential elements are related to financial concerns, which might be taking on increased importance at the moment given the current pressure on many household budgets. Repatriation and financial protection in case their travel company goes bust, plus knowing the total price in advance, are seen as essential by half of respondents."
The association concluded: "Package holidays and all-inclusive trips therefore have potential for delivering a good dose of customer confidence."
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