Over half plan one more trip abroad before the end of the year

While the main holiday season may be behind us for this year, over half of Irish people still intend on travelling abroad at least once more before the end of 2018 according to a recent survey.

In response to a survey of 5,000 people undertaken by AA Travel Insurance, 38.81% of those surveyed stated that they would definitely be travelling abroad before the New Year or had already booked a trip. Meanwhile, a further 11.8% described themselves as ‘very likely’ to spend a period of time abroad over the coming weeks and months.

However, it does appear that the holiday season has ended for a sizeable majority of Irish people, with 25.8% of those surveyed stating they are ‘very unlikely’ to travel abroad in the months ahead.

“Many people assume that the travel season comes to an end after the summer months when we all return from sunny trips abroad, but for most people this doesn’t reflect modern life. Over the coming weeks and months, particularly with the mid-term break on the horizon, many of us are still hoping to squeeze in one last trip before the year comes to an end,” Conor Faughnan, AA Director of Consumer Affairs stated. “While it’s true that the sun holidays are mostly over, city breaks, business trips, ski holidays and even shopping sprees are still likely to draw us overseas and, even though this trip is likely to be shorter than your main holiday, it’s important to ensure you have travel insurance in place.”

According to the survey, those aged between 55 and 65 are the most likely to travel abroad again before the end of the year with 43.39% stating they had either already booked a trip or would definitely be spending time overseas. This was followed closely by those aged between 25 and 35, with 42.52% of this cohort starting they would definitely take another holiday before the end of the year.

“If you are a regular traveller overseas and up to this point you have not put travel insurance in place, this time of year can be a good time to do so. Some people mistakenly believe that annual travel insurance runs from January to December but it actually runs for 12 months from when you purchase cover,” Faughnan added. “That means, for example if you’re someone without travel insurance in place, purchasing now would mean that your upcoming trip before the end of the year is covered but that you would also be cover for your holiday next summer, as well as any other trips you take over the next year. For someone who travels abroad twice or more in a 12 month period taking out annual cover can work out a lot cheaper than purchasing travel insurance for each individual trip.”