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Schoolies: What risks are young Aussie travellers taking this summer?

Announcement posted by Columbus Direct 16 Nov 2017

Some of the most popular overseas Schoolies destinations show a rise in travel incidents involving Australians [i] – and our young travellers may be a little too carefree about it...

Sydney – 16 November 2017.

Right now, young Australians across the country are getting excited about their first independent holiday overseas. Thailand and Indonesia (including Bali) are popular overseas travel destinations for Schoolies.[ii] So what risks are young travellers facing in these destinations?

Travel incidents on the rise in Thailand and Indonesia

Earlier this month national news reported that Australian Stacey Liddle (30) was hospitalised in Thailand facing the amputation of a limb after a bus collided with her scooter.[iii] This is far from an isolated event. Last year Thailand and Indonesia ranked 1st and 2nd respectively for the highest number of Australian overseas hospitalisations and were in the top three for Australian deaths overseas, according to DFAT.[iv] While Indonesia’s rates of Australian deaths and hospitalisations per 1000 travellers are in line with those of the USA, Thailand’s rates are more than three times as high for both.[v]

Looking at DFAT’s figures more broadly, it becomes clear that, while overseas incidents involving Australians have decreased globally during the 2016-17 reporting period, incidents were on the rise in both Thailand (up 7%) and Indonesia (up 4%).[vi] Given travel incidents for these popular destinations are on the rise, how prepared are young travellers to deal with risks overseas?

Young travellers more likely to engage in risky behaviour

In a 2016 survey of traveller behaviour commissioned by DFAT and the Insurance Council Australia (ICA), over 70% of 18-29 year-old travellers responded they had engaged in an activity overseas that DFAT classes as risky, compared with only 40% of travellers aged 30 and over.[vii] Activities DFAT classes as risky include drinking (and being affected by) alcohol, taking illegal drugs, riding scooters and adventure sports.

18 -29 year olds unlikely to have adequate travel insurance 

According to the same survey, 18-29 year-olds are the most likely to experience an insurable event overseas,[viii] but the least likely to have insurance.[ix] And those who do purchase travel insurance are unlikely to have considered what their policy actually covers: Less than 3 in 10 people under 30 consider policy exclusions when purchasing a policy and, less than 4 in 10 consider the policy terms and conditions.[x]

This is a less-than ideal situation, given many travel insurance policies restrict cover related to risky activities. In Ms Liddle’s case, for example, a policy exclusion around scooter riding has forced her family and friends to set up a fundraising appeal to bring her home. “It’s definitely not what I expected and it could have been avoided if I read the fine print,” Ms Liddle told 9 News. [xi] So how can we empower young travellers to be safe these summer holidays?

 An unusual approach to get Aussie students talking about travel insurance

Travel insurer Columbus Direct believe the key to helping young Australians become more confident and safe travellers is education.

 “We understand travel insurance isn’t something young travellers would typically discuss over coffee,” admits Columbus Direct’s head of marketing Antje Lauterbach. “We wanted to find a way to spark some conversations, so we teamed up with Student Edge to create something young Australians would be more likely to talk about.” The result is #HolidayFails, a video series following the group chat messages of five bantering 20-somethings on a disaster-prone holiday in Thailand.

 “We were really pleased to partner with Columbus Direct on the #HolidayFails campaign and illustrate (with a bit of humour) how quickly holidays can go wrong if you’re not adequately prepared, especially with Schoolies on the horizon,” says Simon Miraudo the Editor and Head of Marcomms and Membership at Student Edge. 

The 4-part series includes everything from forgotten underwear to a scooter crash, but there is surprisingly little talk of travel insurance involved. “We didn’t want to spoon-feed information or tell people what to buy,” explains Lauterbach. “Our aim has been to tell a story that piques curiosity around travel insurance questions and then provide supplementary content for people to learn more.” “We want young travellers to think, ‘Oh, this is actually relevant to me’ and then give them the tools to find the right travel insurance cover for their future trips – be that with us or with another insurer.” 

So far the #HolidayFails approach seems to be working …

The series has been an instant success: it reached the #1 trending spot on the Student Edge website and the first video in the series has had more than 4,000 views on Facebook.  “The response to the campaign has been really positive, which we attribute to the videos depicting authentic student conversations and concerns about their next big holiday,” says Miraudo. “We always strive to capture that authentic student voice with our campaigns, and the chatter on social media seems to suggest we’ve accomplished just that.” 

“What makes us happy,” explains Lauterbach “is that so many of those watching the series go on to learn more and test what they know about travel insurance.” In only a couple of weeks almost 2000 students completed the Student Edge quiz and proved their knowledge across a number of travel insurance topics that the DFAT/ICA survey has highlighted as being misunderstood by many young travellers.[xii]

Columbus Direct’s top tips for avoiding #HolidayFails this Schoolies

·      ·    Get proper travel insurance. Spend some time thinking about what cover you need and choosing a policy that is right for you, paying extra attention to exclusions around pre-existing medical conditions and activities. Our Travel Insurance 101 provides an overview, along with many tongue-in-cheek examples, of some important travel insurance considerations.

·        ·   Be responsible when it comes to drugs and alcohol. This is something that Schoolies hear all the time but, it is especially important when travelling. Travel insurance will not cover claims that occur as the result of being drunk or high.

·        ·   Pack your policy documents. Need to know what you can claim when your flight is delayed, who to call in a medical emergency or, whether a spur of the moment parasailing class will be covered? You’ll find all this and more in your policy documents.  


Notes to editors

#HolidayFails is a video series by Student Edge and Columbus Direct Travel Insurance.  

You can see the series here: http://www.columbusdirect.com.au/content/smart-traveller-or-prone-to-holidayfails-which-one-are-you/.  And visit the supplementary Travel Insurance 101 page here: http://www.columbusdirect.com.au/content/travel-insurance-101/


Columbus Direct is a specialist travel insurance provider established in the UK in 1988. We entered the Australian market in 2001 offering travel insurance both online via www.columbusdirect.com.au and offline via call centre channels; our New Zealand presence (www.columbusdirect.co.nz) followed shortly after.

We have a history of innovation in the industry, including being the first company to sell travel insurance direct to the consumer in the UK and also the first to fully sell a policy online.

Over the last 28 years, more than 15 million travellers worldwide have trusted Columbus Direct to cover their trips. Customer satisfaction and value for money are the driving forces behind Columbus Direct and we pride ourselves on providing a quick, efficient and hassle-free service.

 

Student Edge was founded in 2003 by students who recognised the challenges faced by young people on a range of issues such as cost of living, student life, access to part-time work, and career guidance. Since then, we’ve grown in popularity not only in our home state of Western Australia, but nationally as well. With more than 900,000 registered members, Student Edge is the largest member-based organisation of high school and tertiary students in Australia.



[ii] http://smartraveller.gov.au/guide/Pages/schoolies-leavers.aspx “Travel advice for popular Schoolies and Leavers destinations are below: [sic] Indonesia (including Bali), Fiji, Vanuatu, Thailand, Cambodia”

 

 

[vi] http://dfat.gov.au/about-us/our-services/consular-services/Documents/consular-state-of-play-2016-17.pdf

Page 4 “Consular Services Provided to Australian Travellers” and page 5 “Where Did Cases Happen?”

 

[viii] See http://smartraveller.gov.au/guide/all-travellers/insurance/Documents/survey-travel-insurance-behaviour-web.pdf  Page 37. “Under 30s are significantly more likely to experience an insurable event (38%) versus over 30’s (18%.)” 

 

[x] See http://smartraveller.gov.au/guide/all-travellers/insurance/Documents/survey-travel-insurance-behaviour-web.pdf  Page 24.  “Features NOT considered when selecting travel insurance cover.” 

 

[xii] The quiz includes questions that address the “Top 5 findings for 18-29 year olds” listed on page 10 of http://smartraveller.gov.au/guide/all-travellers/insurance/Documents/survey-travel-insurance-behaviour-web.pdf