More than 65 percent of the Dutch are concerned about leaving for their holiday destination. This has emerged from research by the ANWB among a thousand Dutch people in collaboration with Multiscope.
Top 5 headaches before departure
People are most concerned beforehand about whether the accommodation will not be disappointing. The headaches are greater than, for example, the unrest in the event of a delay or cancellation of a flight, admission to a foreign hospital, loss or theft of possessions, a natural disaster, driving abroad or a destination becoming more expensive.
Top five:
- A disappointing accommodation.
- Forgotten luggage.
- Other travel partners, whether something will happen to them.
- A Hospitalization in a Foreign Land.
- Possessions that can be lost or stolen.
Older people worry less
It is striking that young people have more than twice as many holiday worries than people aged 65+. Young people are especially afraid of losing their luggage or forgetting to take things with them. But they also worry the most about the accommodation. The latter also applies to the elderly. The elderly, on the other hand, are slightly less concerned about their luggage, but consider a possible illness or hospitalization abroad a little more.
Book a carefree holiday
Despite the concerns, we like to go to the sun in winter: about a quarter have plans. We prefer to go to the Canary Islands, followed by the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao) and Egypt. The sun worshipers experience no stress when booking, according to the same study. When choosing the holiday, reviews and price play an important role in the selection process.
Carefree travel without insurance
Vacationers don't worry much about whether their Travel Insurance will pay out in case of damage or breakdown on holiday. In the end, 16 percent were not or insufficiently insured in the event of a claim. 5% do not take out travel insurance at all.
If people are afraid of what is in the top 5, I advise them not to go. Maybe nothing will happen.
A very, very long time ago I wrote - under a pseudonym - rather caustic columns in a magazine of a foundation in which the ANWB participated at board level. That magazine had an independent editorial status. I immediately stopped writing columns for this magazine when the ANWB banned the publication of one of my columns. In it I cynically wrote that the ANWB first scared the Dutch population who went on holiday that they could not find their way abroad, that they would not be able to find a campsite and that you would not be accepted without a vignette. The same ANWB then sold masses of land and road maps, camping carnets and other tourist information books in their shop. My advice then (and still today) was: don't be scared, just think for yourself and take the necessary measures. In principle, you do not need the ANWB for that.
Maybe it's better that those few people just stay home.
Always something to whine about.
Ever flown China Airlines Bangkok Amsterdam departure 02:00 in the night?
Many Dutch people then fly back to NL.
Look what's being finished there. Real Holland Basic life.
Interference and commentary on everything of optima forma.
A human being is not made for that while we are here on earth.
But fortunately……..many Dutch people realize that.
More than 400 people leave every day! permanently from NL.
I was 1 of them.
Nowadays, I think you only get concerns about a disappointing accommodation if you first book the cheapest you can find, and only then read the reviews.
Okay, you can be unlucky once, but if you have done your homework well in advance, you don't have to worry anymore. That no longer makes sense. A carefree holiday requires careful preparation. Impulsive booking, often in response to a 'great one-off now or never offer', you sometimes regret.
Yet last week I had a small setback in a hotel in Bangkok. In the room type I booked, under the heading “In your room” it explicitly stated “Wireless Internet Access”. When I asked for the access code at the reception, I had to pay 400B. Foreign? The girl at the reception didn't think so. There is wireless internet available in the room, if you want to use it you have to pay for it. Just as the use of the minibar and telephone is not free. Otherwise it would have said “Free Wifi in room”. Well, there's something in that.