Brits are feeling more confident about travelling overseas than this time last year, according to new research from Abta.
The association’s Travel Confidence Index, returning for its second year, reveals a score of 47 for the UK population overall, up six points compared with last year.
Those who booked with a travel professional remain very confident at 72 and those who took a package holiday in the past year returned an even higher score of 74 (up from 70 last year).
Families (62) and those aged 25-34 (60) remain the most confident, and all age groups aged below 64 and under returned more positive scores this year.
The biggest year-on-year increase in confidence was among those aged 45-54 (up from 34 to 50).
The only age group to have lost confidence to travel is those aged 65+, with a score of 26, down from 33 last year.
First launched in October 2023, the Travel Confidence Index is a measure of the nation’s confidence levels, which tracks changes among different age groups or certain types of travellers.
Helping customers get the correct documents for travel – such as a valid passport or visa – continues to be the most important area for travel companies, with this rated ‘essential’ by 71% of respondents.
Areas seeing the biggest year-on-year increase were being able to get home if their travel company goes bust (rated essential by 58%), good health and safety standards at their accommodation (rated essential by 48%), and having a welcoming and safe environment on holiday (rated essential by 46%) – highlighting the importance of reassuring customers on these points during the booking process or via marketing activity.
Booking with an Abta member provided the same level of reassurance as last year (being rated essential by 41% of respondents).
Graeme Buck, Abta communications director, said: “With the Travel Confidence Index now in its second year, this is our first opportunity to compare data and start identifying any trends or changes in sentiment.
“It’s really encouraging to see that the nation’s overall confidence to travel is up – and up significantly among certain groups.
“It’s also brilliant to see that booking with a travel professional continues to foster such high levels of confidence too.
“However, it is slightly concerning to see confidence dropping among the over-65s, who have traditionally had a very strong interest in travel and are a large customer base for our members.
“Our research suggests they’ve become increasingly risk averse and are significantly reassured by travel insurance, protections against company insolvency and booking with an Abta member – so businesses targeting this age group should make sure they raise awareness of these points in their interactions with customers.”
The Travel Confidence Index will be part of Abta’s Holiday Habits 2024-25 report which will be released during the association’s 2024 Travel Convention in Greece (October 7-9).
The statistics come from Abta’s annual Holiday Habits survey, carried out each summer by The Nursery Research and Planning, with a nationally representative sample of 2,000 UK adults.