We live in a world where, certainly for younger generations, independent travel has become the norm. A generation ago, the go-to option was to book package holidays through travel agencies and tour operators who made things simple for people by bundling flights and accommodation into one.
But the internet changed all of that. As websites cropped up listing flights and/or accommodation options for sale in destinations all over the world, it became just as easy to book your own flights and a place to stay. And without the middleman involved, people soon got wise to the fact that you could save money doing it yourself compared to package holiday prices.
Not surprisingly, therefore, more people are travelling independently than they were 20 years ago. Indeed, booking trips abroad yourself has become considerably more common than package holidays. Yet while this is consistent across age groups, it is clear that there still remains something of a generational divide, with older travellers showing noticeably more affection for package holidays.
In a new survey into mature travel trends by over-50s travel insurance specialist Avanti, it is very clear just how much younger people in particular have embraced independent travel. Even back in 1998, booking their own trips was popular amongst 16-24 year olds, with 61% choosing mainly to travel this way. But in 2018, more than three quarters (76%) of people in this age group booked trips independently, and the 5.7 million who did so was roughly double the number who did in 1998.
With over-65s, independent travel was only slightly more popular back in 1998 than package holidays, with figures of 51% and 49% respectively. By 2018, that gap had widened to 60% and 40%, with 4.54 million doing their own trip planning and booking online.
Balancing value with risk
However, this means that considerably larger numbers of people aged 65 and over are still going on package holidays compared to younger people, and this is reflected in attitudes to the value of independent versus non-independent travel. Overall, Avanti’s survey found that three in four people now believe independent booking provides better value. But for the older age group, this figure fell to less than two in three (65%).
Brad May, Chief Marketing Officer at Avanti, suggested that for older travellers, the convenience and service that comes with package holidays may hold a greater appeal. He also pointed out that there is less risk involved.
“Buying a package holiday can feel like a safe, less-risky choice for holidays where all the finer details are taken care of,” he said. “Plus, the recent collapse of Thomas Cook has also highlighted how choosing a package holiday gives you added protection through ATOL, should your travel company collapse.
“But if you do prefer to book your holiday independently, then buying your holiday on your credit card can give you extra financial protection. You can also make sure your travel insurance covers the collapse of holiday companies by checking if it has ‘End Supplier Failure’ as this won’t be covered as standard.”
Attitudes to insurance
Speaking of travel insurance, Avanti’s survey also found evidence that people who preferred to go on package holidays were more likely to be cautious when it came to buying travel cover. In order to gauge how seriously people took the need for travel insurance, the survey asked participants from the UK how likely they would be to buy cover just for a day trip over the English Channel to France.
Just over half (52%) of people who said they usually booked trips abroad independently said they would most likely buy insurance even if they were going on a day trip only. However, amongst those who preferred package holidays, this rose to 62%.
It would be tempting to also interpret this along age lines – younger people are more likely to travel independently and are also prepared to take more risks when it comes to travel insurance, older people tend to go on more package holidays and are also more cautious about their travel cover. This is supported by the fact that only 45% of 18-20 year olds said they would take out a policy for a day trip, 10 percentage points lower than the average of 55% across all age groups.
However, the spanner in the works is the fact that there was a dip amongst 45-54 year olds – only 50% of people in that age group said they would buy a policy for a day trip. And most surprising of all, just 42% of women aged 65 and over said they would bother with travel insurance for a day trip – the lowest figure for any demographic interviewed.
So while it might be true that package holidays tend to appeal to travellers who are more risk-adverse, the survey’s findings suggest that doesn’t necessarily correlate with age.
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