• 2013 sees a 10% increase in the number of travellers choosing Spain as a holiday destination in September and October
• The average autumn traveller opts for a European country, city tourism and a one week stay

 

Spain Becomes a Main Autumn Travel Destination | 18 October 2013, Madrid. With the summer holidays over, and for some already a distant memory, autumn arrives and brings with it new plans, travels and places to discover. City tourism, country homes, weekend getaways… October and November offer numerous possibilities, being nicely situated between the good summer weather and the Christmas holidays.

Europe, in the eye of the traveller

The autumnal routine for some travellers has already begun; organising travel plans around the build up to Christmas. November 1^st, All Saints Day and public holiday in 14 European countries, has become an attraction for thousands of travellers, especially this year as it happens to fall on a Friday. Furthermore, Halloween celebrations have become hugely popular all over the world and are one of the main attractions for European tourists around this time of year. There are even trips especially dedicated to this Anglo-Saxon holiday.

But where do tourists travel to around this time? October, November and the beginning of December are the most popular months for European tourists deciding to take a trip to neighbouring countries. This is backed up by data from AVI International, European insurance company, through its contract Routard insurance Europe, who has seen their numbers increase with regards to European destinations. From this we can produce an autumn traveller profile that appears to opt for city tourism, something more active than in summer, and where they can get to know a city or numerous places in a shorter period of time. 75% of contracted stays last for one week.

 

Spain, the leading autumn destination

One in four tourists travelling in autumn chooses Spain as their holiday destination. One fact that is particularly revealing is the increase in insurance purchases in this country, up from 18% to 28%. One factor that has led to such an increase is the current situation and conflict in many Middle East and North African countries. As Florence Aubert, head of customer relations at AVI International, says: “When it comes to choosing a destination, sun, sea and places of interest are all important. However if in addition, destinations that are considered accessible are being negatively affected by political crisis, then Spain will gain points over these other countries.”

Other reasons point towards the economic crisis and expenses incurred on such trips. Zoubida Madaoui, head of customer contracts at the company, highlights the importance of the standard of living in a country as an incentive when it comes to travelling: “Spain and Portugal are more accessible than other countries such as Italy, which has always been considered an expensive country for tourists.”

Behind Spain is Portugal, which has also seen an increase in the number of insurance policy sales between 2012 and 2013 (3% to 16%), followed by Greece whose 2012 sales of 12% remains the same this year. Whereas the country that has seen the biggest decrease in its number of tourists is Italy, with the percentage dropping from 34% in 2013 to just 8% this year.

Tourism has also increased in new destinations in 2013. This is the case for the Netherlands, which has managed to achieve a figure of 8% despite not appearing as a destination in 2012 insurance statistics.

With all these destinations, travellers look for a basic set of conditions when it comes to taking out insurance, as explained by those in charge at AVI: “What policy-holders look for, above anything else, is medical evacuation coverage in case there´s a problem, or if they need to be hospitalised or there are serious problems with their health.” Therefore these insurance companies try to adapt their services to meet the needs of their customers’ travel plans. An example of this is the promotional campaigns that are regularly launched on the company’s website.