Summer travel survey from Generali
The travel insurance division of Generali Global Assistance recently released the results of its annual summer travel survey.
According to the survey, more US travellers will be heading off for a trip this summer, with 68 per cent planning a holiday, compared with 61 per cent in 2016. This group of travellers was tied with Brazilians as the demographic most likely to go on a trip, ahead of Chinese and European travellers. US travellers’ budget declined slightly this year, by one percentage point, while average trip duration saw an increase of 15 weeks. Forty-six per cent of US respondents said they would be booking a trip at least four months in advance, with beach and city breaks the most favoured type of holiday.
“After a significant dip in 2016, summer travel has rebounded over the past two years,” said Chris Carnicelli, CEO of Generali Global Assistance. “With budgets remaining relatively flat, unsurprisingly 46 per cent of vacationers will stay within the US this year, up five percentage points from 2017. Of the preferred foreign destinations for US travellers, Canada was the top, followed by Mexico, with the Bahamas, Italy and France locked in a three-way tie for third place.”
Of those US travellers planning a trip this year, 70 per cent said they would take out insurance to cover themselves for health issues, 71 per cent said they would insure themselves against a potential vehicle breakdown, 67 per cent said they would insure against a transportation accident and 57 per cent said they would insure themselves in case they lost personal belongings or luggage. Europeans were more likely to purchase insurance directly from a travel insurance provider – 48 per cent against the 22 per cent of Americans who said the same. US travellers were more likely to have insurance via their credit card provider.