NEWS ANALYSIS:
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Canada goes to pot Legalisation raises questions for Canada’s insurers
FEATURE:
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FEATURE:
Gadget cover: why so needy?
Indian opportunities
The rise of add-on insurance
An examination of India’s emerging international travel insurance market
ESSENTIAL READING FOR TRAVEL & HEALTH INSURANCE PROFESSIONALS
Travels and tribulations The majority of travellers are at least somewhat concerned about travelling safely in 2018, with the threat of terrorism still being seen as a major threat, according to new survey data from US-based medical, security, evacuation and travel risk management provider Global Rescue
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MARCH 2018 • ISSUE 206
Analysing the ‘flashpacker’ According to a new poll from Tourism & Transport Forum Australia (TTF), Australian millennials are spending more on their summer trips than any other demographic – but are they covered? The survey, undertaken on TTF’s behalf by pollster Nielsen, found that nearly a quarter (21 per cent) of Australian travellers aged between 18 and 24 plan to spend anything between AU$2,000 and $5,000 on a summer holiday, compared to 13 per cent of those aged 65 and over, and just eight per cent of those aged between 45 and 64. Not worrying figures in and of themselves; but when one takes into account a 2016 study from the Insurance Council of Australia and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which found that 15 per cent of this millennial demographic are unlikely to take out travel insurance for the trips – while at the same time being 74 per cent more likely than other demographics to engage in ‘risky behaviour’ while overseas – a slightly more concerning picture emerges. “The days of young people travelling with little more than the shirts on their back are well and truly over,” commented Margy Osmond, Chief Executive of TTF. “What we are seeing is the rise of the ‘flashpacker’ – young travellers who have
According to the data, 82 per cent of respondents expressed concerns about their safety when travelling in 2018, while 19 per cent claimed to be more concerned about travelling this year than they were in 2017. Though terrorism is the biggest concern, with half of the respondents citing this as their primary fear, health and medical issues are not far behind, with 39 per cent ranking it as either first or second on a list of potential threats. Crime came in third, with 37 per cent ranking it highly on their list. However, despite the heightened risk of nuclear attack, only five per cent put it as one of their top concerns. Many travellers are still concerned about travelling to Europe, the survey found, with one participant noting: “Going to France this year and fairly worried about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Less worried about Brazil/Amazon than France. Who would have thought that a few years ago?” Seventy-three per cent of respondents expressed some level of concern about travelling to Europe in 2018 – the same amount as the Middle East. The intensity of the concern is
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Thomas Cook resumes service to Tunisia UK travel operator Thomas Cook recently became the first major British travel company to resume flights to Tunisia, with its first flight touching down on 13 February. Tour operators have avoided flying to the country since the 2015 terror attack in Sousse, when 38 people were killed in a shooting on a beach. The attack caused the UK Foreign Office to advise against travelling to Tunisia unless it was essential, though it has recently downgraded its warning.
Thomas Cook flew three aircraft to Tunisia on its first day back operating in the country, and said that all three flights were full. The operator’s Chief Executive Peter Fankhauser asserted that the travel operator had done all it could to ensure security for holidaymakers. “It would be foolish of me to say that any destination is 100-per-cent safe,” he said, “but what I can say is that we have taken time to make the decision to prepare our programme.”
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