Interest in Autumn Holidays Growing, Demand for Travel Insurance Up 23 percent

Bratislava, 3 October (TASR) - Interest among Slovaks in autumn holidays is growing significantly, with the number of travel insurance policies concluded between September and November rising by 23 percent year-on-year, according to findings presented by Union poistovna insurance company, the Slovak Travel Agencies Association (SACKA) and the Pelikan travel website earlier this week. While interest in summer insurance between 2023 and 2025 grew by 7 percent for July and August, the figure for autumn trips from September to November went up by 23 percent. "We're seeing a very interesting trend in our data. Autumn can no longer be viewed merely as the edge of the season; for an increasing number of Slovaks, it's a period for a full-fledged holiday," stated Tomas Kalivoda, member of the Board of Directors at Union poistovna. According to him, autumn stays are competing with summer ones in terms of length. Slovaks are shifting their holidays beyond the peak season in search of lower prices, smaller crowds and milder weather. Fewer families with children travel in the autumn, but the proportion of individual adults and seniors is rising. Despite higher fuel prices and fiscal consolidation, interest in holidays hasn't declined, although Slovaks are comparing prices more closely and changing destinations or travel dates accordingly. More than one million travel agency customers are again expected in 2026, with Turkey, Egypt and Greece remaining the most popular destinations, while Croatia and Bulgaria are lagging behind. "Given the geopolitical situation in the Middle East and the associated trends in aviation fuel prices, travel agencies anticipated a 5-to-10 percent decline in revenues and adjusted their offers accordingly by reducing contracted capacity," stated SACKA president Ludmila Masarikova. Strong competition among airlines has reduced air fares, said travel agency representatives. According to them, prices for popular destinations such as Alicante and Palermo have fallen by 30 percent, while exotic destinations have become 9-percent cheaper. jrg/df/am