IRISH holidaymakers are avoiding travelling to traditionally popular destinations such as France, Turkey and Tunisia for fear of terrorist attacks according to a survey by 123.ie.
The holiday survey found that 80 per cent of us won’t go to places we feel are at risk of an attack. France was cited as the country most at risk (94 per cent) with Turkey and Tunisia also ranking highly at 91 per cent and 87 per cent respectively.
Mexico (72 per cent), South Africa (68 per cent) and Russia (46 per cent) were perceived to be the most risky in relation to crime, according to the research.
The 123.ie Holiday Survey was carried out amongst 771 adults in Ireland and covered a range of issues including popular foreign and Irish destinations, risk, travel insurance, and must-have items for travel.
“People’s views are obviously influenced by recent attacks in Turkey and the attacks in Paris and Sousse and this has been reflected in their responses, which is totally understandable,” said Padraig O’Neill, Head of Marketing at 123.ie.
“Thankfully, the research also indicates that this hasn’t stopped people from travelling abroad and almost three quarters of Irish holidaymakers (72 per cent) are planning a foreign trip this year.”
When asked about the issue of health, India was cited by 61 per cent as the country that poses the greatest health risk followed closely by Brazil.
Russia and Greece’s political regime were said to pose a risk to travel by 44 per cent and 42 per cent of respondents respectively.
“We anticipated that Brazil might feature on the list given the recent outbreak of the Zika Virus and the ensuing publicity surrounding golfers including Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and their decision not to take part in the Rio Olympics,” O’Neill said.
“Despite the fact that pregnant women is the group most at risk from the Zika Virus, the global publicity may have contributed to heightened concerns that has been borne out in the research.”
According to the survey, Spain is the most popular destination for Irish holidaymakers (41 per cent), which will come as no surprise with more than one million of us flocking there every year.
With the Euro performing particularly well against Sterling since the Brexit vote, the 36 per cent of people heading to the UK from Ireland should feel the benefit in their pockets.
Fourteen per cent of those taking a foreign holiday have selected a trans-Atlantic trip to the US and 15 per cent have chosen Portugal for their break.
“Fourteen per cent of people are also planning a trip to France, but that doesn’t include the tens of thousands of Irish fans who were there for Euro 2016, the timing of which coincided with the research,” said O’Neill.
When asked about the type of holiday they would most like to take, 17 per cent of people plumped for a staycation with Galway city (31 per cent) and Killarney (29 per cent) chosen as the favourite home destinations.
Dingle was selected as a favourite Irish holiday spot by 24 per cent of respondents, followed by West Cork at 23 per cent.
Killarney and Galway city featured in the top two destinations for both the under 35s and those aged 35-54, with people over the age of 55 opting for Westport as their number one destination.
Popular holiday types also included a world cruise (38 per cent), which appealed to all age groups, with the same percentage selecting a USA road tip.
Disneyland was chosen by 24 per cent and 11 per cent would enjoy a spot of backpacking.
When it came to holiday habits, tea featured prominently in the 123.ie Holiday Survey with 57 per cent of holidaymakers taking their preferred brand of tea with them on a foreign trip.
The first thing 14 per cent of people do when they arrive at their destination is make a cup of tea and when it comes to what people miss most when they go on holiday, almost one in ten misses a good cup of tea.
More than one third of people miss their own bed when they go away, 10 per cent miss Irish food but somewhat hearteningly, one quarter admitted to missing nothing at all about home when on holiday.
Four out of every five people have bought or will buy travel insurance for their holiday with the majority, 95 per cent, ranking it important or very important in providing medical or injury cover.
Over 90 per cent of us consider it important to cover loss or theft of money and 89 per cent to cover loss of passport.
Of less importance to holidaymakers from Ireland is missing a flight and delays, despite the survey showing that 28 per cent had missed a flight or connection with five per cent turning up for a flight on the wrong day. A total of 18 per cent of respondents reported being robbed whilst on holiday.
“We know that people place a high value on their travel insurance,” said O’Neill.
“It offers great peace of mind and it’s one of those things that you can purchase and not think about again as you never need it, until you need it.”
When it came to travel insurance, the gulf between age groups was quite marked with 92 per cent of those aged 55+ taking out a policy compared to 77 per cent of under 35s.