IMG publishes Travel Outlook Survey

The International Medical Group (IMG) found that 44 per cent of its customers planned to travel internationally three times or more throughout the year – a rise of 16 per cent compared with the results of its 2022 survey.

The company also found that its customers were planning to travel earlier in the year than in 2022, with 72 per cent planning their next international trip before August 2023 – an increase of 44 per cent compared with IMG’s 2022 results.

Despite the still-challenging global economic climate, over a third (35 per cent) of respondents said that they were planning to spend more on travel than they did the previous year.

For US travellers, Mexico was the most popular country again – topping the list for the third time in a row – followed by Canada, Japan, Italy and Spain.

Respondents cited several common concerns that they consider while planning a trip or travelling. These included:

• Getting sick or having an accident while at their destination
• Needing to cancel their trip before departure
• Issues getting to or from their destination
• Needing to interrupt a trip while at their destination.

Naturally, due to these concerns, travellers said that international and/or emergency medical coverage continues to be the most important insurance benefit in 2023, followed closely by trip cancellation and travel delay.

Domestic travel is popular – domestic travel insurance is not

Domestic travel was also popular with US travellers, with 89 per cent planning to travel within their home country this year, while just under half (48 per cent) said that they planned to travel domestically at least three times in 2023.

Despite this, only 19 per cent of respondents said that they purchased travel insurance with trip cancellation or travel delay benefits for at least one domestic trip in 2022.

“Travelers are planning to spend more on their trips this year and are concerned about the ability to cancel those trips, which is all the more reason why travellers need to be purchasing travel insurance to protect their investments,” said Amanda Winkle, IMG Chief Operating Officer.

“It’s clear that people’s desire to travel, whether internationally or domestically, is not slowing down in 2023,” added Steve Paraboschi, IMG President and CEO. “After the huge rebound in travel we saw in 2022, IMG is well-positioned for travel to continue to increase in 2023 with our market-leading products and customer service.”

IMG also appointed Scott Ackerman as its new Chief Commercial Officer in January 2023.