Awareness of the Abta symbol has grown during the peak holiday booking period, independent research reveals.
The poll of 1,000 consumers ranked the association as the most trusted travel organisation in the UK.
The study, carried out in March by independent consultancy Arkenford, looked at people’s awareness and understanding of Abta, as well as trust in the organisation compared to travel companies and other associations and trustmarks.
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Four in five people (80%) were aware of the Abta brand, an increase of 6% since August 2018.
The study found that 88% of people have a positive feeling as a result of seeing the Abta logo, with the most common feeling being reassurance (57%) and protection (56%).
Furthermore, 59% of respondents said they were more likely to book a holiday with a company displaying the Abta badge, showing how strongly trust supports buying behaviour.
Spontaneous awareness – the ability to recall the brand when asked to think about travel organisations they are aware of – was higher than any other travel association or trust scheme.
There was also greater familiarity with the organisation compared with other travel schemes – 61% of people say that they know at least a little bit about Abta – more than any other travel association or trust mark.
The research also asked respondents to rank organisations on a confidence scale of 1 to 4, where 1 is a ranking of most confidence and 4 least confidence.
Abta was ranked no.1 by 42% of respondents. No other travel scheme or company came close to this ranking for confidence – only 9% of people ranked Trustpilot in category 1, and 11% ranked Atol in category 1, for example.
The travel association’s brand and business development director Victoria Bacon said: “Gaining people’s trust in your brand and business is much harder to achieve than it once was.
“This new independent research shows that Abta is clearly ranked the UK’s most trusted travel organisation.
“It also tells us that not every travel badge is the same – high recognition does not necessarily equate to high trust.
“This is a really powerful tool for our members to use in their marketing as the Abta badge offers a compelling trust proposition for their customers, complementing their own brands.”
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