The International Medical Group (IMG) found that 44% of its customers planned to travel abroad three or more times during the year, a 16% increase from its 2022 survey results.
The company also found that its customers plan to travel earlier in the year than in 2022, with 72% planning their next international trip before August 2023, a 44% increase from IMG’s 2022 results.
Despite the still difficult global economic climate, more than a third (35%) of respondents said they planned to spend more on travel than the previous year.
For American travellers, Mexico was again the most popular country – topping the list for the third consecutive time – followed by Canada, Japan, Italy and Spain.
Respondents cited several common concerns they consider when planning a trip or trip. These included:
- Falling ill or having an accident at destination
- Having to cancel your trip before departure
- Problems getting to or from their destination
- Needing to interrupt a trip while it is at its destination.
Understandably, due to these concerns, travelers said international and/or emergency medical coverage continues to be the most important insurance benefit in 2023, followed closely by trip cancellation and delay. of travel.
Domestic travel is popular – domestic travel insurance is not
Domestic travel was also popular with US travellers, with 89% planning to travel to their home country this year, while just under half (48%) said they planned to travel to their home country this year. origin at least three times in 2023.
Despite this, only 19% of respondents said they purchased travel insurance with trip cancellation or delay benefits for at least one domestic trip in 2022.
“Travelers are planning to spend more on their trips this year and are worried about the possibility of canceling those trips, which is yet another reason why travelers should purchase travel insurance to protect their investments,” Amanda said. Winkle, chief operating officer of IMG. Officer.
“It’s clear that people’s desire to travel, whether internationally or domestically, isn’t slowing down in 2023,” added Steve Paraboschi, IMG’s president and CEO. “After the huge rebound in travel we saw in 2022, IMG is well positioned to drive travel to continue to grow in 2023 with our market-leading products and customer service.”
IMG also named Scott Ackerman as Chief Commercial Officer in January 2023.