As we enter the travel industry’s busiest sales period, ABTA is launching its national Travel with confidence advertising campaign on 26 December– encouraging holidaymakers and business travellers to book with an ABTA Member.

The ABTA brand is already well known by consumers – 3 in 4 people recognise the logo and 73% of people say ABTA membership is essential when booking a holiday. Similarly 4 in 5 managers say booking business travel arrangements through an ABTA Member is important. The annual Travel with confidence campaign helps to maintain this brand awareness. 

The campaign carries a strapline saying ‘we’re with you every step of the way,’ highlighting how the benefits of booking with an ABTA Member span the customer’s holiday from start to finish.

The campaign will initially target families through a partnership with Made for Mums – a parenting website with 9.7 million page impressions a month - and Facebook advertising; and over 55s though a dedicated campaign with The Telegraph. Later in the year it will reach 18-35 year olds through a social media campaign across Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, and there will be targeted advertising to reach people who frequently book business travel.

This year’s campaign creatives tap into the social media trend of taking ‘feet selfies’ – where people post photos of their feet while on their travels. Images from different destinations feature in the campaign – demonstrating the wide range of holidays and locations on offer from ABTA Members.

ABTA will also support the campaign through a hub on its website providing holidaymakers with tips on how to travel with confidence. There will also be social media activity with the hashtag #beABTAsmart and a competition. 

I encourage Members to get involved by featuring the Travel with confidence logo in your advertising and sharing the content across your own social media channels.

We will also be supporting the busy sales period by launching our annual Travel Trends report on 27 December– revealing the key trends and 12 destinations to watch for 2018.

As this is our last ABTA Today of 2017, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas and all the best for the New Year.

Mark Tanzer, Chief Executive