Travel season 2023: High demand, more volatility and high expectations

Allianz Partners' annual Global Travel Summit predicts three key trends that promise a turbulent 2023 for the travel market: increased demand for travel insurance, increased economic and geopolitical turmoil, and higher customer expectations.

Despite inflation, travel is making a big comeback and consumer interest in travel insurance is well above pre-pandemic levels. This is evident from data from the Customer Lab of Allianz Partners from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and the UK. For example, the purchase intention of travel insurance more than doubled between 2019 and 2022 – from 21% in 2019 to 55% in 2022 for international travel. This high demand also leads to higher expectations from customers of their insurer in terms of faster claims handling and a fast response time.

Durability

At the same time, the complex economic and geopolitical background plays a major role in the spending habits of travellers, partly due to higher living costs. Insurers also have to deal with labour shortages, they have to match the higher expectations with a better customer experience and sustainability is at the top of the list for travellers. "And that goes beyond just the climate,' says Vylon Ooms, climate policy advisor at the Dutch Association of Insurers. Making sustainable choices also plays an important role. This can be done by reducing your own CO2 emissions during your holiday by making more sustainable choices for transport to the destination and during the stay.