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Half of Canadians say they are taking part in “revenge” travelling, making up for lost time during the pandemic, according to a survey.

And while it’s been three years since we’ve seen images of shut down airports, closed hotels and people frantically trying to get home because of Covid-19, the memory has served as a reminder to many travellers to be prepared for the unexpected.

That’s why travel insurance is no longer a nice-to-have but has become as “important as flip-flops are at the beach.”

“The pandemic exposed the unpredictability of travel and the peace of mind that travel protection can bring,” said Chris Van Kooten, CEO at leading travel insurance and assistance provider Allianz Global Assistance (Allianz). “As travellers look ahead with excitement and count down the days to their vacation, they are also banking in the expectation that something could go wrong – and that’s why we’re seeing travel insurance become less of a choice and more of an absolute necessity for consumers.”

Consumer attitudes changed

Travel volumes are reaching pre-pandemic levels, but consumer attitudes toward travel insurance have changed, according to Allianz’s Global Assistance Vacation Confidence Study, conducted by Ipsos in November 2022. The survey garnered 2,005 from Canadians over 18 and predated the travel chaos that ensured during the holiday period that made a mess of Canadians’ planned visits to family and friends.

At the end of the day, “travel has changed,” Van Kooten said.

“Our latest study revealed that Canadian households are projected to spend over $14 billion on vacations this year – that’s more than pre-pandemic vacation spending,” said Allianz’s CEO. “With rising costs, protecting your travel investment with insurance has never been more important, and travellers who once left their vacations to chance are looking for security more than ever.”

The survey found:

• 89 % of Canadians who intend to travel also intend to be covered by travel insurance for their next trip.
• 74% say travel insurance is equally or more important post-pandemic. Of that number, 32% say it's more important now than before the pandemic.
• 6 in 10 Canadian travellers remain worried about the possibility of COVID-19 impacting their travel plans. Travellers aged 55 and over are the most concerned.
• 6 in 10 Canadian travellers were confident that they would take a vacation in the next 12 months. Of that number, 70% were millennials, 64% were Generation Z. In fact, millennials were found to be responsible travellers who proactively plan to obtain travel insurance before they take a trip.
• Canadian households are projected to spend $14.3 billion overall on vacations this year, more than reported in Allianz’s 2019 annual survey.
• 75% of millennials say an annual vacation is important to them – compared to 68% of Gen Zers and 57% of boomers.
• 39% of Generation Z find travel to be more important post-pandemic compared to 32% overall
  

Rising costs affect plans

That being said, inflation continues to affect vacation plans.

“Overall, 57% of Canadian travellers are scaling back their vacation plans this year due to inflation, and millennials are the most likely to do so at 64%,” said Dan Keon, vice president of marketing & insights at Allianz Global Assistance.

He said the survey found 59% of millennials who said they will travel plan to use pandemic savings to fund their trips.

Meanwhile, almost three quarters of Canadians over the age of 50 who live in warmer climates for part of the winter say they are worried about the current state of the economy impacting their lifestyle, according to a survey from the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce conducted by Maru Public Opinion.

That comes as everything gets more expensive in Canada and abroad, meaning money has to stretch further than before. A weak Canadian dollar isn’t helping.

“After managing through challenging pandemic-related travel conditions, many Canadians have returned to spending their winters abroad in warmer locales,” Carissa Lucreziano, vice president of Financial and Investment Advice at CIBC, said in a news release, adding many snowbirds were faced with travel uncertainty this past winter as interest rates and the cost of living continued to climb.

If you have some revenge travel in mind, it’s a good idea to speak with your broker to ensure you have the right protection whether you need it for a single trips or annual plan. Travel safely and leave your worries at home.

-With files from Insurance Business Canada, The Financial Post

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