Seven out of ten people regard Abta membership as important when booking a holiday, according to research published this morning at the start of Abta’s Travel Convention in Dubrovnik.
An online survey of more than 2,000 UK adults found 71% consider Abta membership ‘essential’ or ‘important’, a small rise on a year ago when 68% responded similarly to the question.
The results were obtained by research firm Arkenford on behalf of Abta.They suggest Abta remains by far the most-recognised industry body among UK consumers, with 74% able to identify the association’s brand.
The Atol (Air Tour Organisors’ Licence) logo is the second most-recognised travel brand, according to the survey, with 53% recognition.
Airline association Iata scored 28% and the Association of Independent Tour Operators (Aito) 11%.
The survey found awareness of Abta across the whole population at 78%, a slight fall on a year ago. However, the results suggest awareness among consumers who take holidays has risen year on year.
Eight out of ten (82%) of those who took a holiday in 2013 said they recognised the Abta logo compared with 77% a year ago.
Awareness of Abta among young people appears to have held steady, with 38% of 16-24 year olds recognising the Abta logo this year – the same proportion as in 2012 and seven percentage points up on 2010.
The findings also suggest increased understanding of what Abta does.
Three out of five respondents (62%) were aware of Abta’s dispute-settling service, compared with 54% a year ago, and two out of three (65%) were aware of Abta’s role in setting industry standards – up from 58% last year.
More than four out of five (85%) viewed Abta as representing the travel industry and seven out of ten (68%) saw the association as representing consumer interests – eight percentage points up on 2012.
Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer said: “Our code of conduct, dispute settling and work to improve standards in the industry set us apart from other trade associations and consumers increasingly recognise this.
“We’ve launched a number of initiatives aimed at deepening consumer understanding and encouraging consumers to look for the logo in the last 12 months, and it’s pleasing to see these have had a positive impact.”
The research among 2,008 adults was conducted in August.