22 Jul
2021

Latest ABTA research shows ongoing confidence in travel professionals, package holidays and the ABTA brand 

New research from ABTA – The Travel Association reinforces an ongoing trend seen throughout the pandemic for people seeking the security and reassurance of booking a package holiday with a travel professional.

The research, conducted at the beginning of July 2021[i], shows holidaymakers are 25% more likely to book a holiday with a travel professional now than before the pandemic, with half citing the security of a package holiday (47%) as their main reason, followed by trusting travel companies to look after them (42%), and the travel professional’s up-to-date advice (40%).

The findings also show that consumer confidence in and awareness of the ABTA brand remains consistent with pre-pandemic levels, with almost three-quarters of respondents associating the brand most strongly with reassuring (74%), experts (74%), confidence (73%) and safe (73%) – values that have cemented ABTA’s place as a trusted travel brand for more than 70 years. ABTA remains the most recognised travel association among those surveyed, with 77% of people saying they had heard of the organisation.

To support the restart of international travel and encourage bookings with an ABTA Member, ABTA is promoting its Book with Confidence tips on social media over the summer and continuing to help holidaymakers feel informed, reassured, confident and excited to book an overseas holiday this year via its ongoing #ReadySteadyTravel campaign.

Recent activities include videos inspiring people to book holidays to green and amber list countries, advice on testing for travel and blogs on travel to green and amber list countries. ABTA is also regularly updating the essential information and guidance on travelling during the pandemic in the #ReadySteadyTravel hub at abta.com/readysteadytravel.

ABTA Members are encouraged to share the latest advice and travel inspiration content with their customers by downloading the campaign assets and suggested social media posts from the marketing toolkit in the Member Zone (https://www.abta.com/member-zone/running-your-business/abta-marketing-toolkit/ready-steady-travel).

ABTA is also keeping Members informed of the frequent changes to Foreign Office advice, the traffic light system and destination entry requirements through the “COVID-19: Country listings, FCDO travel advice and UK inbound border entry rules guide”, operational bulletins and the COVID-19 situational update, as well as regularly updating its Coronavirus advice for Members, which includes guidance on when refunds are due and how to deal with difficult questions from clients. These resources can also all be found in the Member Zone.

Shelly Beresford, Head of Brand and Marketing at ABTA said:
“People continue to recognise the huge benefits that come with booking their holidays through an ABTA travel professional, with the ABTA brand remaining as highly regarded as ever.

“We know there is huge pent-up demand for overseas holidays after so many months of restrictions, but that there is also a lot of information that people need to know and understand before they travel, so we’re making sure that the #ReadySteadyTravel campaign keeps holidaymakers informed about the changes that will affect their travel plans, reassured about the prospect of taking an overseas holiday and excited to book their well-deserved break with an ABTA Member.

“We’re also supporting Members with our guides and updates so they are across all of the latest changes and developments.”
ABTA’s advice on travelling during the pandemic can be found at www.abta.com/readysteadytravel.


Notes to editors
[i] ABTA consumer sentiment research conducted by The Nursery Research and Planning (www.the-nursery.net/) at the beginning of July 2021, with a nationally representative sample of 500 consumers.

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 more than 4,300 travel brands in Membership, providing a wide range of leisure and business travel services, with a combined annual UK turnover of £39 billion. For more details about what we do, what being an ABTA Member means and how we help the British public travel with confidence visit www.abta.com.