NCA market research on travel abroad

National Consumer Agency Market Research Findings: Travelling Abroad June 2012 Research Conducted by

Table of Contents2 Research Methodology and Sample Profile Key FindingsMaking Complaints Main Findings: Travelling Abroadwww.nca.ie

3 Research Methodology Making Complaints and Sample Profilewww.nca.ie

Profile of Sample and Research Methodology (Base: All adults aged 16+ – 1,001) 4 Gender Age Social Class Region % % % % 17 Dublin 16-24 ABC1/ 28 Male F50+ 49 25-34 48 22 Making Complaints Leinster Rest of 26 35-44 19 45-54 16 Munster 28 Female 51 C2DE/ 52 F50- 55+ 26 Conn/ Ulster 18• A nationally representative sample of 1,001 adults aged 16+ was achieved via means of an online omnibus.• Fieldwork was conducted between 14th – 22nd May 2012. www.nca.ie

5 Key Findings Making Complaintswww.nca.ie

Key Findings - I6• 6 in 10 (58%) Irish adults plan to travel abroad this year with the majority travelling to European countries.• 20% plan to use travel agents to book their holidays.• Making Complaints 2 in 3 (64%) assert they will take out travel insurance for their holiday this year; substantial differences across the age groups are observed; just 44% of the 16-24 age group plan to take out travel insurance, this increases to 78% for those over 55.• Just over 2 in 3 (68%) who take out travel insurance compare different product providers.www.nca.ie

Key Findings - II7• Incidence of problems experienced when abroad on holidays • 17% of Irish adults have experienced problems with their flights • 14% have had difficulty in relation to their bank card • 12% experienced accommodation related problems.• Consumers were most likely to complain with regard to accommodation Making Complaints (71%) and making claims on travel insurance (69%) when they have experienced problems.• 54% check phone roaming costs before travelling abroad and 42% check banking charges.• Over 1 in 4 (27%) found the cost of phone roaming costs to be higher than expected and for 1 in 5 (19%) found bank charges to be higher than expected when abroad.www.nca.ie

8 Main Findings: Travelling Abroad Making Complaintswww.nca.ie

Plans to Travel Abroad This Year (Base: All adults aged 16+ - 1,001)9 Planning to Travel Abroad (n=578) % % Gender 59 Male 56 Female No Yes Age 54 29% 16-24 61 13% Making Complaints 58% 25-34 35-44 52 53 45-54 64 Don’t know 55+ Region 67 Dublin 52 Rest of Leinster 58 Almost 6 in 10 (58%) adults plan to travel Munster 50 abroad on holidays this year. Adults from Dublin Conn/Ulster and higher socio-economic groups are more likely to travel abroad whilst 35-54’s, Rest of Social Class 67 Leinster, Connacht/Ulster and lower socio- ABC1F50+ 50 economic cohorts are less likely. C2DEF50-www.nca.ie

Countries People Intend to Visit This Year (Base: All who plan to travel abroad this year - 578)10 % % Spain 36 Australia 3 UK 28 Canada 3America/USA 13 Netherlands 3 France Making Complaints 13 Greece 2 Italy 11 Croatia 2 Portugal 10 Turkey 2 Germany 6 Sweden 2 Poland 4 Spain is the most popular destination for Irish adults this year with 12 of the top 15 most popular destinations in Europe. Outside of Europe Irish adults are going to America, Australia and Canada. * All others 1% or lesswww.nca.ie

Use of Travel Agent to Book Holidays (Base: All who plan to travel abroad this year - 578)11 Planning to use a Travel Agent (n=117) % Gender % Male 24 Female 17 No Age Yes 70% 16-24 17 25-34 19 Making Complaints 20% 35-44 23 10% 45-54 18 55+ 23 Region Don’t know Dublin 24 Rest of Leinster 21 Munster 20 1 in 5 (20%) plan to use a travel agent when planning Conn/Ulster 13 their holiday. Adults from Connacht/Ulster are least likely to use a travel agent. Social Class ABC1F50+ 17 C2DEF50- 24www.nca.ie

Intention to Take Out Travel Insurance (Base: All who plan to travel abroad this year - 578)12 Planning to Take Out Travel Insurance (n=372) % Gender % Male 65 Female 64 Age No 16-24 44 Yes 30% 25-34 58 60 6% Making Complaints 64% 35-44 45-54 75 55+ 78Don’t know Region Dublin 69 Rest of Leinster 64 Almost 2 in 3 (64%) of those who plan to travel abroad Munster 62are intending to take out travel insurance. Less than half Conn/Ulster 60 (44%) of 16-24 year olds think they will take out travel Social Classinsurance whereas 3 in 4 of those over the age of 45 will ABC1F50+ 68 take out insurance. 61 C2DEF50-www.nca.ie

Been Abroad on Holidays in the Past Three Years (Base: All adults aged 16+ - 1,001)13 Been Abroad in Past Three Years (n=796) % Gender % Male 80 Female 79 No Yes Age 20% 16-24 80 80 Making Complaints 25-34 35-44 81 80% 45-54 78 55+ 79 Region Dublin 85 4 in 5 (80%) Irish adults have travelled abroad on Rest of Leinster 80 holidays in the past three years. Of those who have, Munster 76 people from Dublin were most likely to travel abroad Conn/Ulster 76 (85%) whereas lower socio-economic groups were Social Class least likely to travel abroad (75%). 84 ABC1F50+ C2DEF50- 75www.nca.ie

Do you Compare Different Travel Insurance Product Providers? (Base: All who plan on travelling abroad or who have travelled 14 abroad in the past three years – 836) All Who Compare Providers (n=441) % Gender % Male 53 Female 52 Age No Yes 16-24 31 25% 25-34 52 51 Have not 22% Making Complaints 53% 35-44 45-54 62 55+ 64 taken/Do notplan to take out Region insurance Dublin 53 Rest of Leinster 56 Munster 51 Just over half (53%) of Irish adults compare travel Conn/Ulster 50 insurance providers when travelling abroad [equivalent to 68% for those taking out travel Social Class insurance]. This falls to just 31% for those under ABC1F50+ 55 the age of 25 whilst those over the age of 45 are C2DEF50- 50 most likely to compare insurance providers. www.nca.ie

Criteria Used for Comparing Travel Insurance Providers (Base: All who compare travel insurance - 441) 15 Price Level of Cover Other Terms and Conditions % % % Yes Yes Yes 98% 94% 76% 2% No 24%No Making Complaints 6% No Nearly every Irish adult (98%) who compares travel insurance providers uses ‘price’ as a selection criteria. 94% look at the ‘level of cover’ yet only 3 in 4 (76%) take ‘other terms and conditions’ into consideration.www.nca.ie

Problems When Abroad on Holidays (Base: All who have travelled abroad on holidays in the past three years - 796)16 Flights Using Bank Card While Abroad Accommodation % % % Yes 14 Yes 12 Yes 17 % 86 % % 83 88 No No No % % % Making Complaints 17% of Irish adults have Car Hire Claiming on Travel Insurance experienced problems with % % their flights when travelling abroad, 14% have had Yes Yes 8% 8% difficulty using their bank card 92 92 while abroad and 12% had No No % % problems with their accommodation. Just 8% of Irish adults have experienced problems with car hire or claiming travel insurance on holidays.www.nca.ie

Whether or Not Complained About Problem (Base: All who experienced a problem while abroad on holidays - 266)17 Using Bank Card While Flights (n=138) Abroad (n=109) Accommodation (n=99) % % % 36 No 29 No % 60 % 64 40 No % 71 % % % Car Hire (n=67)* Making Complaints Claiming on Travel % Insurance (n=67)* Circa 7 in 10 adults Yes % complained when they 57 experienced a problem in No 69 Yes % relation to accommodation % 43 31 (71%) or in relation to % No % claiming on travel insurance (69%). 16-24 year olds are least likely to complain about problems across the board.www.nca.ie *Caution small base size

Whether Problem was Resolved to Your Satisfaction (Base: All who experienced a problem while abroad on holidays - 266)18 Using Bank Card Flights (n=138) While Abroad n=(109) Accommodation (n=99) % % % Yes 65 Yes 69 Yes 46 54 35 % 31 % No % % No No % % Making Complaints oversaid it(54%)resolved to Claiming on Just problems half was with flight Car Hire (n=67)* Travel Insurance (n=67)* their satisfaction. For bank cards it % Yes % is 2 in 3 (64%) and 7 in 10 (69%) 61 54 Yes were satisfied with the solution to % % accommodation problems. 3 in 5 39 46 No No % (61%) who have experienced % difficulty with car hire abroad had their problem resolved to their satisfaction and over half (54%) with travel insurance issues contend that a satisfactory solution was found. *Caution small base sizewww.nca.ie

Do You Check the Following Before Going on Holidays19 (Base: All who plan on travelling abroad or who have travelled abroad in the past three years – 836) Phone Charges When Abroad Bank Charges When Abroad % % Yes No 46 54 Yes No 42 58 % % Making Complaints % % Slightly more than half (54%) of Irish adults check the roaming charges for their phones before travelling abroad while just 4 in 10 (42%) check bank charges before travelling. Interestingly 38% do not check either.www.nca.ie

Costs of Phone Roaming and Bank Charges While Abroad 20 (Base: All who have travelled abroad on holidays in the past three years - 796) % Substantially lower Substantially higher than expected (1) (2) (4) than expected (5) In-line with expectations (3)Costs of Phone Roaming (10) 3 7 20 7 (27)Charges While Abroad 62Costs of Bank Charges Making Complaints (9) 2 (19) 7 16 3 72While Abroad Phone roaming costs fall in-line with the expectations of 63% of Irish adults. Just 10% say they are lower than expected while over 1 in 4 (27%) feel they are higher. Bank charges are more closely aligned with expectations at 72% of the population. Just 9% feel they are less expected and 19% think they are more than expected. www.nca.ie

NCA market research on travel abroad

by National Consumer Agency on Jun 05, 2012

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