4 tips for smart holiday travel

Over the holidays, 25% of Canadians will be travelling, shows a CIBC poll.

Most(53%) of those travelling will be staying inside Canada, while 25% are visiting the U.S., and 17% are travelling outside of North America.

Read: Ensure clients have adequate travel insurance

Among those travelling in Canada, the average vacation cost is expected to be $824, while among those saying they are visiting the U.S., the average cost is expected to be $1,680. Travellers going outside of North America plan to spend $3,405.

While their journeys will offer some travelers the opportunity to escape holiday stress, venturing from home has its own stresses.

Falling ill while travelling is a worry for 24% of travelers, while delayed or cancelled flights concerns 11%. Losing luggage; overspending while away; and losing money or credit cards were concerns for 8% of those surveyed, respectively.

Read: Put insurance on clients’ travel checklists

For your travelling clients:

• Explain their travel protection before they leave. Many credit cards include insurance, such as travel medical, trip cancellation, trip interruption, flight delay, lost baggage, car rental collision/damage. For those who are protected through other policies, ensure they know the extent of their coverage. Your clients should depart armed with the knowledge of how to access assistance while away.
• Remind them to alert their credit card companies and bank of their travel. If a transaction in a foreign country or distant city pops up, their bank or card company will know to accept it.
• Suggest they bring a back up form of payment in case of emergency. They should be sure to keep them separate and in secure locations, and have important phone numbers written down separately in the event you lose a credit or debit card.
• Help them track vacation spending. Major banks and credit cards have online budgeting and expense-tracking tools that can be used on the go.

Read: Plan a safe trip with travel insurance

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.