43% of Latvians are considering traveling this summer, and one in four travel plans is related to leisure trips outside the Baltic States, according to a survey of Latvians conducted by AAS BALTA (PZU Group). *
One in three travel plans are forged with some caution, assessing the epidemiological situation as unstable. The Insurer points out that only 100,000 euros have already been paid in compensation for trips canceled due to Covid-19 alone in four months.
In general, people are very cautious about traveling
European travel plans this summer are mostly forged by young people under the age of 40 with a monthly personal income of more than € 1,000 (33%). One in five or 22% consider traveling in Europe, 3% plan to relax in one of the countries of Asia, Africa, America or Oceania, but most travelers associate their leisure trips with trips in the Baltic States.
A wait-and-see strategy is 34% of the population, especially for potential travelers aged 40-60. 15% of respondents currently abstain from traveling altogether.
The biggest concern – unexpected turns during the trip
When thinking about traveling in a Covid-19 pandemic, people are most concerned about the risk of being stuck in a foreign country due to a canceled flight or border closures (49%). The risk of quarantine during a trip is a concern for 34% of travelers, and 35% of respondents are concerned that the trip may have to be abruptly canceled, rescheduled or interrupted for Covid-19 reasons.
It is the unexpected changes during the trip that are the main reason why part of the society prefers to consider traveling only within the Baltic States. Almost a third of Latvians (32%) are concerned about the risk of becoming infected with Covid-19 themselves during a trip, while 25% of the population are concerned about bringing a new type of Covid-19 virus home. The potential need for self-isolation after a trip proves to be a particularly dissuasive argument for young people under 30 (34% among young people; 23% for respondents on average). 19% of the population have no concerns about traveling abroad.
When active travel resumes, the risks increase
“BALTA’s experience shows that people have resumed active travel since March, and this trend is likely to continue with the introduction of Covid-19 vaccination certificates. When travel resumes, we can safely say that there are no two situations with Covid-19. This is always a challenge, because each case is unique, and travelers expect a quick response from us, which mostly means non-standard solutions. BALTA has already paid 100,000 euros in cancellations for travel cancellations in just four months. The largest proportion of such cases is observed when customers are unable to start a trip from Latvia due to Covid-19 because they are infected or quarantined as contact persons. But there are also many cases abroad. Travelers from Latvia have been forced to quarantine in Portugal, Egypt, Turkey, Seychelles, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Norway, when we pay for accommodation and transport. Recently, we have also encountered cases when only a child falls ill with Covid-19, and then BALTA pays the quarantine and transport costs for both the child and the parent, ”says BALTA Personal Product Manager and Risk signatory Ludmila Ščegoļeva.
She adds that there are also enough cases where inpatient treatment with Covid-19 requires inpatient treatment, which can be very costly.
“In addition, it should be noted that the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) does not work outside the European Union (eg in Egypt, Turkey, Russia) and that medical care for uninsured people in these countries usually costs several thousand or even tens of thousands of euros. For example, for a client who fell ill in Nepal and was treated in hospital for three days, BALTA paid medical expenses in the amount of 15,000 euros and transportation expenses in the amount of 1,000 euros to get him home, ”reveals L. Ščegoļeva. In addition, typical cases of compensation are not missing when traveling. L. Ščegoļeva points out that during this half-year the number of claims for damages for luggage damage has significantly increased, especially if the flight is organized by charter flight.
Most rely on vaccination certificate
The circumstances of a pandemic are characterized by various travel restrictions, one of which is the mandatory requirement to present a negative PCR test, vaccination certificate or other proof that a person is not infectious. The survey data show that when traveling outside Latvia, residents would most often take the Covid-19 vaccination certificate (61%), suggesting that travel is probably one of the incentives to get vaccinated. 15% of potential travelers would rely on the Covid-19 test before and after the trip, and 7% would rely on the Covid-19 test.
At the same time, BALTA observes a growing interest of the population in appropriate travel insurance, which includes the risks associated with Covid-19: compensation for travel cancellation, compensation for hotels, tickets and travel tickets if the customer falls ill or is quarantined before the trip; quarantine abroad; medical assistance, repatriation, reimbursement of expenses to take the sick child home; traditional risks – delayed or lost luggage and lost documents.
The pandemic has changed not only the travel package, but also the travel insurance product, because now people are most often interested in Covid-19 coverage – both the possibility to compensate for a missed trip and the “airbag” when abroad. Insurance compensation does not depend on whether the traveler has been vaccinated or has chosen another official travel document, and in the case of reimbursement, the rules are the same for everyone. Appropriate travel insurance is important both for those who have already completed the vaccination process and for those who are ready to take the Covid-19 test before landing on the plane, ”emphasizes L. Ščegoļeva.
* The survey was commissioned by BALTA in June 2021 by Snapshots, which surveyed 726 Latvian residents aged 18–74.
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