04 Feb 2013
Posted by Miriam O'Neill 
Read our latest press release below:
Booking early, cheap last minute deals, a bit of good old fashioned haggling or opting for off peak travel, all some of the ways holiday makers will be looking to save a few euros this year. However not everyone who would like a holiday during 2013 will be fortunate enough to get away according to a study carried out by AA Travel Insurance last month.
Of a sample of over 9,000 people polled by the travel insurance provider during January, 27% said that a holiday during 2013 was totally out of the question for financial reasons. In addition, a further 20% indicated that they probably couldn’t afford to get away.
Of those lucky enough to be planning a break away, booking at off peak times would appear to be one of the most popular methods of trying to secure a cheaper holiday. Just 7% of respondents overall said they’d have a go at haggling with a travel agent to squeeze a better deal out of them.
Of all the age categories included in the AA Travel Insurance poll, the highest percentage of respondents aged between 36-45, 39%, said there was no chance they’d be able to afford a holiday during 2013. Inversely the poll results suggest that limited finances are least likely to be a barrier to travel for the over 65s in the year ahead.
Respondents aged between 36-45, were also identified as the group most likely in general to book their holidays well in advance this year to avail of early bird deals. 42% of respondents within this age category said it was their intent to do so. This compares to a figure of just 15% among the total number of respondents polled by AA Travel Insurance.
Choosing to travel off peak was most popular among the over 65s with 30% saying they were planning to do so this year to avoid paying a premium for their holiday.
Whatever means chosen to secure the best value holiday the AA advise holiday makers to think twice before going without travel insurance. 10% of those polled by the travel insurance provider, some 924 people, said it’s something that they never usually bother with. Many others said they’ll only opt for it if travelling to a destination where medical costs are high, the trip itself was expensive or they felt their chosen activities while abroad presented a high risk of physical injury.
“As far as insurances go, travel insurance is typically inexpensive and multi trip policies tend to be the best value if you’ll be away more than once.” Says Conor Faughnan, Director of Consumer Affairs, AA Ireland. “If you’re running your holiday on a very tight budget this year the best option really is to shop around to get good value rather than go without. It’s one of those things, when you don’t need it you tend to forget you have it, but when you do, you’re relieved it’s in place.”
End
Notes to the editor;
Fig. 1 To what extent poll respondents agreed/disagreed with the following statements regarding their holiday plans in 2013 (Based on 9,456 responses gathered via an online poll carried out w/c 14/01/13)
| Agree completely | Agree somewhat | Neutral | Disagree somewhat | Disagree completely | |
| I can’t afford to get away for a holiday this year. | 27.4% | 20.4% | 17.1% | 16.6% | 18.8% |
| I will book my main holiday as early as possible this year specifically to avail of ‘book early discounts’. | 14.6% | 15.6% | 29.0% | 12.6% | 28.6% |
| I will hold off and try to get a cheap last minute deal this year. | 9.6% | 15.6% | 30.8% | 11.5% | 32.6% |
| I am planning to haggle with the travel agent to get a cheaper holiday. | 6.7% | 8.4% | 34.7% | 11.0% | 39.4% |
| I’ll look at off peak dates to get a better deal on my holiday. | 21.8% | 23.5% | 23.1% | 6.6% | 25.1% |
B. To what extent poll respondents aged 17-24 yrs agreed/disagreed with the following statements (Based on 146 responses gathered via an online poll carried out w/c 14/01/13).
| Agree completely | Agree somewhat | Neutral | Disagree somewhat | Disagree completely | |
| I can’t afford to get away for a holiday this year. | 35.7% | 21.6% | 16.8% | 16.2% | 10.3% |
| I will book my main holiday as early as possible this year specifically to avail of ‘book early discounts’. | 12.8% | 22.2% | 27.2% | 10.6% | 28.3% |
| I will hold off and try to get a cheap last minute deal this year. | 8.9% | 17.2% | 31.1% | 10.6% | 32.2% |
| I am planning to haggle with the travel agent to get a cheaper holiday. | 8.4% | 11.2% | 28.7% | 14.6% | 37.6% |
| I’ll look at off peak dates to get a better deal on my holiday. | 15.8% | 27.1% | 24.9% | 8.5% | 24.3% |
C. To what extent poll respondents aged 25-35 yrs agreed/disagreed with the following statements (Based on 1,586 responses gathered via an online poll carried out w/c 14/01/13).
| Agree completely | Agree somewhat | Neutral | Disagree somewhat | Disagree completely | |
| I can’t afford to get away for a holiday this year. | 31.3% | 23.3% | 12.7% | 18.7% | 14.4% |
| I will book my main holiday as early as possible this year specifically to avail of ‘book early discounts’. | 12.6% | 13.7% | 30.5% | 15.1% | 28.4% |
| I will hold off and try to get a cheap last minute deal this year. | 8.4% | 17.7% | 32.1% | 12.5% | 29.5% |
| I am planning to haggle with the travel agent to get a cheaper holiday. | 6.5% | 9.0% | 34.1% | 13.4% | 37.5% |
| I’ll look at off peak dates to get a better deal on my holiday. | 19.0% | 26.1% | 24.8% | 6.7% | 23.6% |
D. To what extent poll respondents aged 36-45 yrs agreed/disagreed with the following statements (Based on 2,273 responses gathered via an online poll carried out w/c 14/01/13).
| Agree completely | Agree somewhat | Neutral | Disagree somewhat | Disagree completely | |
| I can’t afford to get away for a holiday this year. | 38.9% | 34.2% | 16.0% | 5.7% | 5.3% |
| I will book my main holiday as early as possible this year specifically to avail of ‘book early discounts’. | 42.1% | 34.6% | 15.1% | 4.4% | 3.9% |
| I will hold off and try to get a cheap last minute deal this year. | 3.5% | 17.6% | 31.2% | 29.6% | 18.3% |
| I am planning to haggle with the travel agent to get a cheaper holiday. | 0.8% | 5.9% | 17.2% | 32.1% | 44.2% |
| I’ll look at off peak dates to get a better deal on my holiday. | 2.2% | 8.9% | 43.5% | 25.4% | 20.1% |
E. To what extent poll respondents aged 45-55 yrs agreed/disagreed with the following statements (Based on 2,469 responses gathered via an online poll carried out w/c 14/01/13).
| Agree completely | Agree somewhat | Neutral | Disagree somewhat | Disagree completely | |
| I can’t afford to get away for a holiday this year. | 31.0% | 20.4% | 17.0% | 15.5% | 16.3% |
| I will book my main holiday as early as possible this year specifically to avail of ‘book early discounts’. | 14.4% | 13.6% | 27.0% | 12.5% | 32.7% |
| I will hold off and try to get a cheap last minute deal this year. | 10.5% | 15.6% | 29.8% | 10.6% | 33.7% |
| I am planning to haggle with the travel agent to get a cheaper holiday. | 7.6% | 8.0% | 34.6% | 9.8% | 40.2% |
| I’ll look at off peak dates to get a better deal on my holiday. | 20.4% | 20.7% | 23.9% | 7.3% | 27.9% |
F. To what extent poll respondents aged 56-65 yrs agreed/disagreed with the following statements (Based on 1,700 responses gathered via an online poll carried out w/c 14/01/13):
| Agree completely | Agree somewhat | Neutral | Disagree somewhat | Disagree completely | |
| I can’t afford to get away for a holiday this year. | 20.5% | 19.5% | 18.6% | 17.0% | 24.7% |
| I will book my main holiday as early as possible this year specifically to avail of ‘book early discounts’. | 16.9% | 15.3% | 28.6% | 12.3% | 26.9% |
| I will hold off and try to get a cheap last minute deal this year. | 12.3% | 15.3% | 30.9% | 10.3% | 31.3% |
| I am planning to haggle with the travel agent to get a cheaper holiday. | 6.8% | 8.9% | 36.9% | 9.7% | 38.0% |
| I’ll look at off peak dates to get a better deal on my holiday. | 28.6% | 25.5% | 20.0% | 4.4% | 21.7% |
G. To what extent poll respondents aged 65+ yrs agreed/disagreed with the following statements (Based on 874 responses gathered via an online poll carried out w/c 14/01/13):
| Agree completely | Agree somewhat | Neutral | Disagree somewhat | Disagree completely | |
| I can’t afford to get away for a holiday this year. | 10.9% | 12.8% | 21.8% | 19.5% | 35.2% |
| I will book my main holiday as early as possible this year specifically to avail of ‘book early discounts’. | 18.4% | 19.6% | 30.2% | 11.2% | 20.7% |
| I will hold off and try to get a cheap last minute deal this year. | 8.4% | 12.0% | 31.0% | 14.0% | 34.7% |
| I am planning to haggle with the travel agent to get a cheaper holiday. | 5.8% | 6.8% | 34.4% | 12.3% | 40.8% |
| I’ll look at off peak dates to get a better deal on my holiday. | 29.9% | 24.7% | 21.8% | 4.9% | 18.7% |
H. To what extent poll FEMALE respondents agreed/disagreed with the following statements (Based on 3,930 responses gathered via an online poll carried out w/c 14/01/13):
| Agree completely | Agree somewhat | Neutral | Disagree somewhat | Disagree completely | |
| I can’t afford to get away for a holiday this year. | 29.9% | 22.3% | 15.1% | 17.6% | 15.7% |
| I will book my main holiday as early as possible this year specifically to avail of ‘book early discounts’. | 14.2% | 15.8% | 26.8% | 13.4% | 30.2% |
| I will hold off and try to get a cheap last minute deal this year. | 10.6% | 15.9% | 28.8% | 11.8% | 33.2% |
| I am planning to haggle with the travel agent to get a cheaper holiday. | 6.3% | 7.0% | 31.9% | 12.2% | 43.0% |
| I’ll look at off peak dates to get a better deal on my holiday. | 22.7% | 21.4% | 21.6% | 6.8% | 27.6% |
I. To what extent poll MALE respondents agreed/disagreed with the following statements (Based on 5,221 responses gathered via an online poll carried out w/c 14/01/13):
| Agree completely | Agree somewhat | Neutral | Disagree somewhat | Disagree completely | |
| I can’t afford to get away for a holiday this year. | 25.2% | 19.0% | 18.6% | 16.1% | 21.3% |
| I will book my main holiday as early as possible this year specifically to avail of ‘book early discounts’. | 14.9% | 15.3% | 30.5% | 12.2% | 27.5% |
| I will hold off and try to get a cheap last minute deal this year. | 8.7% | 15.5% | 32.0% | 11.4% | 32.5% |
| I am planning to haggle with the travel agent to get a cheaper holiday. | 7.0% | 9.5% | 36.8% | 10.1% | 36.9% |
| I’ll look at off peak dates to get a better deal on my holiday. | 21.3% | 25.1% | 24.3% | 6.5% | 23.0% |
