One in five consumers have concerns about fraud when booking a holiday.
An exclusive poll for Travel Weekly by TNS Travel and Tourism showed a significant number were worried about fraud, particularly when paying by credit card or using a website that had no high-street presence. The results are based on face-to-face interviews with 942 consumers at the end of last month as part of TNS’ Omnibus survey.
According to TNS, the results mean 3.4 million UK consumers are concerned about fraud when booking a holiday. Around 1.5 million are very concerned and 1.9 million quite concerned.
Those most concerned were aged over 55 (23%), people booking via a website featuring hotels (35%), customers booking direct with an airline (36%) or people paying by credit card (27%).
TNS Travel and Tourism director Jim Eccleston was surprised how few people appeared to take the problem seriously. He added: “The fact only 20% of the population is concerned about fraud is lower than expected.
“However, one in five people is still significant.”
TNS group director of travel and tourism Tom Costley agreed. “Broader concerns about Internet fraud are evident in the travel sector, although they do not appear to have put people off booking online.”
ABTA head of financial services Mike Monk said: “People need to be aware of the risks. However, consumers booking through an ABTA member shouldn’t have any concerns.”
- Visit the Stamp Out Fraud campaign homepage