Almost 1 in 4 Irish people have been forced to cancel a holiday at the last minute due to an emergency or change in circumstances.
24.02% of over 3,000 respondents to an AA Travel Insurance survey stated that they had cancelled a holiday because of an emergency, with 4.91% forced to cancel a holiday within the past 12 months.
An additional 4.38% and 4.05% of those surveyed had cancelled a holiday because of an emergency within the last 3 and 5 years respectively, while 10.68% of respondents had been forced to scrap a trip abroad over 5 years ago.
Personal illness, illnesses affecting family members or travel companions and having to attend a funeral were the top reasons for cancelled holidays.
26.42% of those who had cancelled a holiday in the past stated it was due to an illness affecting a family member or close friend, while 25.59% had to cancel a holiday after falling ill themselves.
Meanwhile, a further 23.91% of holiday-goers had to cancel their plans because of a funeral, while almost 1 in 10 (9.03%) of those surveyed were forced to abandon their holiday because of a change in work commitments.
The survey also found that 1.84% of those who had cancelled a holiday did so because of a falling out with their travel partner, while 1.17% of abandoned holidays were the result of unexpected unemployment.
