New research released by Allianz Partners NZ has found New Zealanders are very eager to travel in 2023, but are still concerned as COVID-19 continues to linger.
According to the study, 96 percent of Kiwis plan to travel in the next year and 34 percent are more likely to purchase travel insurance now than prior to the pandemic.
Allianz Partners NZ reported a 25 percent increase in policies sold for the June quarter compared to the same period in 2019.
As the travel industry began to recover this year, there were countless reports of lost luggage and other disruptions as more and more people took to the skies again.
But David Wallace, chief sales officer at Allianz Partners NZ, said the risks are not dissimilar to what they were pre-pandemic.
"I think the risks are actually the same, it's just how often they're occurring," he told Newshub.
"People have always gotten ill and could have had that happen before they were supposed to get on a flight. With COVID-19 in the community, they're more likely to get ill and not be able to jump on a plane due to isolation requirements.
"Similarly with lost luggage, that's always happened. But with the constraints around resource across airports we're seeing more baggage go missing.
"From a cost point of view, because people are spending more on their trips, the impact of missing a flight and having to get a new one might be a lot more than it was previously."
Watch Wallace's full interview with Newshub Late above.
