Assicurazioni Generali : 18th edition of the Europ Assistance – Ipsos Holiday Barometer

The 18^th Holiday Barometer, a study conducted by Ipsos and Europ Assistance to analyse travel preferences among European and non-European citizens, has recently been published. The 2018 publication is characterised by a strengthened international outlook, going beyond Europe, the United States and Brazil to investigate the Indian and Chinese markets.

Planned holidays remain stable across Europe, the United States and Brazil, confirming the increment witnessed in 2017. Yet, for European citizens, the same stability does not emerge in terms of budget availability, losing 2 percentage points compared to the previous year. Italian citizens figure amongst the most virtuous, with an average per capita summer expense of € 1.776.

The main drivers fostering people's desire to travel are the search for tranquillity, the need to dedicate time to their families as well as the willingness to discover new cultures. In terms of accommodation, hotels remain the top choice (47%), followed by holiday-homes (32%) and B&Bs (+2% compared to 2017). The Holiday Barometer has also drafted a list of the dream cities that, in line with the trend highlighted in the 2017 publication, is topped by New York (25%), followed by Paris (16%), Rome (15%) and London (12%). In terms of reputation, most Europeans conceive Italy as the most romantic country (39%), the most culturally rich (22%), the best enogastronomic destination (31%) and the most artistically attractive (28%).

However, the reported data does not match Millennials' preferences. Everywhere across the world, millennials claim to be mostly interested in new ways of traveling and engaging in activities such as eco and sustainable tourism, visiting people's houses and discovering nature by camping in wilderness. Almost 60% of European millennials states to be open to such possibilities also looked at with great interest by American (83%), Indian (81%) and Chinese (77%) tourists.

To know more about travellers' risks for all kind of journey visit the 'Just think about the journey '.