What are British adults’ most common holiday mishaps

Holidaymakers have revealed their most memorable holiday mishaps - including leaving spending money at home, picking up the wrong luggage at the airport and travelling to the wrong destination.

A survey of 2,000 adults, ahead of the October half-term holidays, found more than six in 10 have experienced some sort of ‘unexpected’ moment while away.

Common holiday mishaps included leaving an essential item at home, such as a passport, forgetting to organise travel insurance, and turning up at the wrong accommodation.

Nearly one third put these sticky situations down to being in too much of a rush, while 20 per cent didn’t check the required crucial information before travelling.

The M&S Bank study also revealed holidaymakers will typically spend more than six hours in total planning a break, with almost all believing it to be important to plan a holiday in advance.

And almost one third book a trip away more than six months before they are due to travel.

Paul Stokes, head of travel at M&S Bank, said: “As much as holidaymakers often spend time planning to ensure things don’t go wrong when it comes to their holiday, our research suggests that they often do, and perhaps more often than we expect.

“Whether going abroad or staycationing, a lot of time and energy is spent planning a holiday, with many things to consider, from where people will be staying to ensuring they have the correct currency and travel insurance in place.”

The research also revealed that no matter how much planning goes into a holiday, 45 per cent of people always experience some kind of mishap.

As a result, one third have had to spend more money than originally planned, some had to claim on their insurance while a further 13 per cent cut their stay short.

But while 62 per cent stated that although not necessarily fun at the time, holiday mishaps can be a humorous talking point after the event, that friends and family look back on fondly.

Accommodation, checking passports are in date and considering what the weather will be like are at the top of people’s to-do lists.

Whereas travel insurance, getting their currency, and how long it takes to get to their destination are things people tend to forget.

The study also revealed that up to one third of travellers have been on holiday without travel insurance.

Of those, 42 per cent don’t consider it a necessity and one third don’t think they’d ever need to make a claim.

Mr Stokes added: “With our research showing that nearly half of all holidaymakers always experience a holiday mishap, ensuring you have adequate travel insurance in place, should the worst happen, can help alleviate any worries, so more time can be spent enjoying that well-earned break.

“To help make planning for holidays a little easier, we also provide a click and collect currency service in store – so holidaymakers can pick up their holiday essentials at the same time as their euros and dollars enabling multiple ticks off the holiday to-do-list in one stop.”

SWNS