Sainsbury's urges people to protect their holiday booking
The start of the year is one of the busiest times for booking holidays, but research from Sainsbury's Travel Insurance reveals that the number of people aged 16 - 64 planning to book a vacation between Christmas and the end of February 2010 is 19% lower than the same period last year. In addition to this, alarmingly 1.14 million of these early bookers who don't currently have travel insurance are not intending to purchase any. With many holidays being booked now for later in the year, the supermarket bank is urging people to protect their holiday booking, as should they fall ill and be unable to travel they will lose the cost of their trip.
Joanne Mallon, Travel Insurance Manager, Sainsbury's Finance, said: "Anyone travelling abroad on holiday should ensure they have good quality insurance. It's easy to forget to buy travel insurance during the excitement of booking your holiday, but cover that will provide assistance when abroad and for cancellations should you fall ill before your trip for example, really is as essential as your passport."
Around 8.9 million people aged 16 - 64 - 23% of those in this age group - plan to book a vacation by the end of February, but the corresponding figures for last year were 11.01 million and 30%.
Of those people in this age group booking holidays now, the average spend will be £832.97 each, or collectively £7.06 billion. Last year, the corresponding figures were £914.65 and £7.64 billion.
Joanne Mallon, Travel Insurance Manager, Sainsbury's Finance, said: "Those people booking holidays now should shop around for insurance to ensure that they find adequate cover at a competitive price There are savings to be made by purchasing an annual policy if you are planning a number of trips within the year."
Sainsbury's Finance research reveals that 41% of people booking their holidays during the first few weeks of 2010 already have cover and that 45%, or 3.85 million people aged between 16 and 64 plan to purchase cover. However, alarmingly, 13% of ‘early bookers' are not planning to buy travel insurance.
In terms of where the early holiday bookers intend to go, 46% intend to book vacations in Europe, followed by 23% in the UK and 7% in the US. Around 6% intend to book holidays in Asia and 5% in the Caribbean.
On a location basis, those living in London, the South West and Wales are the keenest to book a holiday in the New Year, with 31% and 29% of people living there respectively planning to do this between Christmas and the end of February 2010. In contrast, only 17% of people living in Scotland are planning to do this.
To obtain a Sainsbury's Travel Insurance quote, visit sainsburysbank.co.uk.