More holidaymakers are financially protecting their holidays and are benefiting from Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) ‘Pack Peace of Mind’ campaign, according to a research by the CAA, the UK’s specialist aviation regulator.
The ‘Pack Peace of Mind’ campaign seeks to spread awareness and understanding of ATOL certification among holidaymakers as they book their trips abroad. In its third year, the campaign was redesigned in 2015, with new imagery created around a family of animated suitcases and the use of television advertising for the first time.
Following this year’s campaign, the CAA commissioned market research with a representative sample of 1,500 consumers from across all regions of the UK.
The research found that an increasing number of people are now well informed about the benefits of booking an ATOL protected holiday. More tourists are now financially protecting their holidays abroad against travel company failure – 71 per cent said they protected their last holiday, up from 64 per cent in 2014. And 83 per cent are planning to financially protect their next holiday abroad as compared with 75 per cent in 2014.
David Moesli, the CAA’s Deputy Director of Consumer Protection, said: ‘With more holidaymakers now solely researching and booking online and with some overseas travel companies selling into the UK, it is vital consumers know what to look out for when booking their holidays.
‘Our research shows people are actively checking for protection before they book and we want to build on this – working in partnership with industry so we can ensure consumers know the facts through clear, easy-to-understand information and can book their holiday with peace of mind.’
Featured in a short animated video, the family-focused ‘Pack Peace of Mind’ campaign aims to encourage households to look beyond the price and check their air holiday is ATOL protected before they book. It stretched across a variety of media including newspapers, magazines and social media and was covered on radio and television news.
CAA also conducted a survey with ATOL holding travel agents and tour operators, which found that tour operators and travel agents considered the campaign to be effective in getting the message across in a fun away.
