The latest research from ABTA shows demand for trusted travel advice and package holidays remains high as the industry gears up for the busiest summer season since the start of the pandemic.

According to ABTA’s findings, people are currently 37% more likely to book with a travel professional now than before the pandemic. Reasons given by consumers are for their up-to-date advice (45%), the security of a package holiday (43%) and for help with COVID-19 requirements (41%)^[i].

The findings also show high confidence in the ABTA brand, with seven in 10 (70%) consumers saying they are more likely to book with a company using the ABTA logo than one which is not, and over a third (36%) saying they are willing to spend more on a holiday booked through an ABTA Member^[ii].

To support this desire to book with trusted ABTA Members, ABTA has produced a range of marketing materials that Members can use to raise awareness of their ABTA membership with new and existing customers.

This includes a new graphic that states “We’re proud to be an ABTA Member” (download image here) that Members can print as A1 and A4 posters for display in retail stores, add to their email signatures or share on social media using the hashtag #WeAreABTAMembers. The materials are available to download at www.abta.com/yourabtamembership. 

ABTA has also been running social media advertising to raise awareness of the expertise and reassurance that ABTA Members offer their customers. The social media advert for Facebook and Instagram shares 10 reasons to book and travel with an ABTA Member and has so far been seen 1.2 million times.

Graeme Buck, Director of Communications at ABTA – The Travel Association said:

“This increased reliance on travel professionals and the enduring confidence in the ABTA brand have been coming through strongly in our consumer research since the start of the pandemic, as people have recognised the huge benefits of getting expert help and advice when booking their holidays.

“The public associates ABTA Members with high standards and first-class customer service, so these new marketing materials are designed to help our Members proudly promote their invaluable knowledge and expertise to their customers, whether they’re repeat bookers or coming through their doors for the first time.”

ABTA has also just launched a new consumer competition called #HelloHolidays which offers ABTA Members’ customers the chance to win £250 of shopping vouchers. All entrants need to do is share a photo of their holiday on the social media channel of their choice and tag the ABTA Member they’ve booked with to be entered into the prize draw. The competition closes on 5 September 2022 and ABTA Members are encouraged to ask their customers to enter. More details at: www.abta.com/win.

Notes to editors
^[i] ABTA consumer sentiment research conducted by The Nursery Research and Planning (www.the-nursery.net/) in late-May 2022, with a nationally representative sample of 500 consumers.
^[ii] As above.

About ABTA
ABTA has been a trusted travel brand for over 70 years. Our purpose is to help our Members to grow their businesses successfully and sustainably, and to help their customers travel with confidence. The ABTA brand stands for support, protection and expertise. This means consumers have confidence in ABTA and a strong trust in ABTA Members. These qualities are core to us as they ensure that holidaymakers remain confident in the holiday products that they buy from our Members.

We help our Members and their customers navigate through today's changing travel landscape by raising standards in the industry; offering schemes of financial protection; providing an independent complaints resolution service should something go wrong; giving guidance on issues from sustainability to health and safety and by presenting a united voice to government to ensure the industry and the public get a fair deal.

ABTA has around 4,000 travel brands in Membership, providing a wide range of leisure and business travel services, with a combined pre-pandemic annual UK turnover of £40 billion. For more details about what we do, what being an ABTA Member means and how we help the UK public travel with confidence visit www.abta.com.