80% of People Lose, Forget or Have Something Stolen When They go on Holiday
Summer is upon us and for many it’s the best time of the year – temperatures soar, the evenings are lighter, and across the nation spirits are high. Many people go on holiday during the summer months too, and there is nothing more exciting than counting down the days until you get to jet off for a relaxing and fun-filled trip away.
Everyone looks forward to going on holiday and it’s easy to start packing everything but the kitchen sink, but our new survey has found that many people actually come home with a lighter suitcase than the one they left with. 80% of people actually lose, forget or have something stolen when they go on holiday, and only 40% of people get their items back.
From the survey, we found that Spain was the destination in which holidaymakers most commonly lost their belongings, followed closely by those who enjoyed a ‘staycation’ in Britain. Sunglasses were the item most likely to be lost, stolen or forgotten, but cameras, clothing, and purses were also common items that disappeared while on holiday.
Going on holidays is a luxury for most people, and it’s not unusual to save up for months in order to afford the holiday of your dreams, so we were surprised to find out that nearly a fifth of people had lost something on holiday that was worth £100 or more. On average, people in the UK lose £55 worth of personal belongings per holiday, and as the average number of holidays taken per person each year is 3.2, each person loses an average of £176 worth of items each year. That’s a whopping £1,760 in a ten-year period, easily enough to cover another holiday or two.
Speaking of finances, we all know how important it is to get travel insurance when going away – you never know when you might fall ill, find your flight has been cancelled, or lose your luggage at the airport, so it’s always good to have a strong insurance policy to fall back on. Interestingly though, of those people who said they had lost, forgotten or had an item stolen while they were away, over half of them didn’t claim, even though they did have travel insurance.
When it comes to men and women, both seemed to lose a similar number of things on holiday, but what they lost was quite different. While women were most likely to lose their sunglasses and men were most likely to lose their camera, one of the more ‘revealing’ stats that came out of our data was that men were nearly twice as likely to lose their underwear on holiday than women – that means around 12 guys on the plane home with you may be going commando!
So how do regions in the UK differ when it comes to losing things on holiday? Residents of Scotland were more likely than anywhere else to lose jewellery on holiday, but not one Scot reported having lost their debit or credit card. Those living in the South West were more likely to lose their clothing than any other belongings when they were away, but were the least likely place to lose their sunglasses – quite the interesting outfit to come home in.
Losing things is never fun, so here are some tips to keep you and your belongings safe next time you go on holiday:
- Keep your small valuables close to you – the best way to do this is to use a money belt. They can be worn underneath clothing and will keep your money, cards, jewellery and other small valuables as close to you as possible at all times.
- Use the safe in your hotel – the majority of hotel rooms will have some form of locker or safe, and these are perfect for protecting larger items such as passports, mobile phones, cameras, and wallets. They are easy to use, just make sure you lock the safe using a code you can remember.
- Use safety straps to avoid dropping things – often items such as phones, cameras, and sunglasses get lost when they are dropped without the owner realising. Using a strap around your wrist for your camera and a lanyard or neck cord for your sunglasses should ensure your belongings never go far, even if you do drop them.
- Label some of your belongings – if you lose something, how is anyone going to get it back to you if they don’t know who or where you are? Label your luggage and larger electrical devices like cameras and laptops, and make sure you are traceable should someone find your mobile or bank cards.
- Do a thorough final check before you leave – especially if you are on a multi centre holiday and staying in a few different hotels. It’s so easy to leave something plugged into the wall or tucked inside a drawer, so before you leave your accommodation to come home, make sure you do a final sweep of your room and check you haven’t left anything behind.
With so many people losing things on holiday, and only half of them getting them back, it’s important to make sure that next time you go away you keep your valuables safe and don’t leave your personal belongings lost and living it up on holiday without you!
Now that you are ready and prepared for travel, book one of our multi centre journeys or a holiday tailor-made for you.
Why choose eShores?
One to One Service
Our experienced personal travel consultants will ensure you find the most suitable holiday, whilst taking care of every last detail. Everything from start to finish will be effortless.
100% Tailor Made
We can use any hotel, in any destination, so we will craft an itinerary to suit your exact needs. Also, as we can provide any itinerary, the only holiday we'll offer, is the one that's right for you.
Fully Protected
Our ATOL bonding provides you with the financial protection you need and as a member of the Travel Trust Association, you'll have 100% financial protection. Covering you for any eventuality.
Competitive Pricing
As a tour operator & travel agent, we'll search the market to ensure that we find you the best price. Also as an online business, we can ensure our prices are as competitive as possible.
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Rajina
Laura, has been very helpful organising our 3 destinations holiday to Singapore, Kaula Lumpur and Bali from flights to hotel and transfer. Giving me advice the best place to stay. Now I can’t wait to go will write again how it all went.
Posted 21 hours ago -
Colin
Andy at Eshores has been extremely helpful on the times we have have used Eshores to book our holidays. As is usual, we have made many changes to our original choices of hotels and schedule and Andy has always been polite and efficient in dealing with the issues. Great choice of travel agent.
Posted 1 day ago -
Ian
From the moment Rob picked up the phone he has provided a truly outstanding service. Rob was happy to listen to what we wanted, provided a schedule to meet our needs at a very competitive cost. There was no pressure applied, left us to mull over our options. We asked to tweak our schedule and again, Rob was so accommodating and dealing with him was a pleasure. The after sales service from the admin team has been equally impressive. Would thoroughly recommend.
Posted 2 days ago -
Maurice
We have booked holidays with eShores 3 times now and highly recommend them, especially Michelle. She has looked after extremely well answering our many questions promptly and coming up with solutions when we wanted to change our itineraries. She is also professional and friendly and nothing is too much trouble.
Posted 6 days ago -
Stuart
Excellent personal service. Understood our requirements and sorted out exactly what we want.
Posted 1 week ago -
SharonLouise
Emily was great and made it very easy to book our holiday. She made a few changes to tailor make it fit our needs.
Posted 1 week ago -
Elaine
Always helpful in planning my holidays. Great advice . And small extra touches , that enhance your experience.
Posted 1 week ago -
MichaelJohn
Just back from an amazing holiday organised by Nick from eShores. We had an idea about what we wanted to do, Nick put some suggestions together and was happy to chip in with suggestions and alternatives at every stage. Everything worked perfectly and the price was very competitive.
Posted 1 week ago -
MichaelJohn
Chris has been very patient with our numerous changes and has endeavoured to keep the price as low as possible.
Posted 1 week ago -
JonathanScott
Fantastic service, quick, responsive, they understand exactly what you're looking for, find great value rooms and hotels and keep to your budget.
Posted 1 week ago