Insured vacations saw a big increase in 2018, particularly cruises, which were up over 1,000 percent. That's according to new research from Generali Global Assistance’s Travel Insurance division, compiled its finding from its proprietary data on insured travel for the 2018 season.
In 2018, insured cruise trips increased by 1,211 percent compared to 2017, while insured air travel trips rose by 43 percent. There was also some movement in the top five travel destinations, with the U.S. and Europe swapping spots and Alaska beating out Mexico for a spot in the top five. Rounding out the list were Italy and Bermuda, bumping Canada and Australia out of the top ten. Hawaii moved up a spot to number nine on the list.
For the year, the average cost of a trip that travelers insured was $1,976.83 – a slight increase of 5 percent compared to 2017. The average premium remained the same as 2017 at $139 per trip. The average number of people on each plan also got a slight bump up to 1.80 in 2018 from 1.75 the year prior. The average length of a trip has held steady at nine days for three years running. The average number of days between the purchase of a trip and departure rose to a high of 90 days, compared to an average of 81 days in 2017.
“Natural disasters continued to dominate headlines in 2018, disrupting travel on a global scale," said Chris Carnicelli, CEO, Generali Global Assistance, in a written statement. "As these types of events proliferate, consumers will continue to look for ways to help protect their valuable travel investments.”
The vacation rental space also saw slight increases from last year, but with a large portion of vacation renters being repeat customers many of the other metrics remained the same as the years prior. In 2018, the average trip cost for vacation home rentals was $1,878 an increase of 1.4 percent from the year prior and 5.6 percent increase over 2016. Meanwhile, average premium cost increased by 1.5 percent, up to $80.16. The average duration remained at six days, the same as the three years prior. The average number of days between the purchase of a trip
and departure increased to 90 days.
“The significant rise in both insured cruise and air travel is encouraging as it is an indication that consumers are gaining a fuller understanding of the need to insure their trips," Carnicelli said.
Source: Generali Global Assistance
Related Stories
CHTA: 44 Percent of Caribbean Hotels Say Tourism Economy Is Strong
Stats: Guayana Tourism Grows 16% to Record High
Stats: Five Megatrends that Will Change the Travel Industry
Stats: 91% of Consumers to Travel the Same or More Than Last Year