Four out of five UK holidaymakers consider financial protection important and a majority would pay more than the current £2.50 Atol protection cost, according to exclusive research for Travel Weekly.
Almost half believe all holidays should be protected, yet only a minority want protection extended to all flights –
a key demand of the trade.
Only one in three realises the Atol logo signifies that a holiday booking is protected. Half mistakenly believe it’s the Abta logo that indicates they will be refunded if a company fails.
The survey, conducted by TNS Research International, reflects the level of understanding among adults who have taken an overseas holiday in the past 12 months.
TNS found 57% of holidaymakers rated protection ‘very important’ and 24% ‘quite important’.
Just one in 10 said it was unimportant and 9% had no opinion.
More than half said they would pay £10 for a fully protected holiday and only one in five wanted to pay nothing.
The findings suggest Abta remains the best-known name associated with financial protection, with 62% of holidaymakers recognising its logo.
TNS head of travel and tourism Tom Costley said: “It is disconcerting that the levels of recognition for Abta and Atol are not higher.
“There continues to be considerable confusion among consumers.”
The survey, by TNS Research International, was conducted among 2,000 UK adults at the end of February, almost 700 of whom had been on holiday in the past year.