US traveller data shows recovery to pre-pandemic level
According to the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA), overall travel exceeded pre-pandemic numbers for the first time over Labor Day weekend. Data from travel insurtech company Squaremouth.com says this trend will continue through the remainder of the year.
Key findings from Squaremouth show that post-summer travel bookings are already up over 60 per cent over last year and 96 per cent over 2019. And for travel insurers, the good news is that following the pandemic, travel insurance has remained in demand.
The company noted: “While travel had not yet recovered until Labor Day 2022, travel insurance sales via Squaremouth exceeded pre-pandemic numbers last summer.”
International travel is approaching pre-pandemic levels
Data from Squaremouth suggests that while American travellers typically like to travel within their own borders, the desire to go further afield could be growing:
• 85 per cent of trips booked on Squaremouth.com for the remainder of the year are to international destinations, compared to 89 per cent in 2019
• Travel to Italy, Spain and France have all increased by over 100 per cent, while popular pandemic destination, Turks and Caicos, fell by 72 per cent.
What are consumers looking for from their travel insurance policy?
In more good news for insurers, fewer flights were delayed and cancelled over Labor Day weekend, compared to both Fourth of July and Memorial Day this year. Squaremouth data shows consumers are still more concerned with flight delays, missed connections, and baggage benefits than last year.
For insurers wondering whether or not to tweak the cover they offer consumers, of interest is the revelation that consumer interest in Travel Delay coverage has grown by 74 per cent, while Baggage Loss and Baggage Delay increased by 33 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively.
On the contrary, the threat of Covid-19-related travel concerns continues to fall – Squaremouth reports a nearly 20 per cent decrease in consumers searching for coverage for contracting Covid-19 compared to last year. Cancel For Any Reason searches, which remained popular throughout the pandemic, have fallen by 37 per cent.