Staying Safe This Summer: Travel Advice, Insurance and the EU Border Changes Ahead

Every summer brings a fresh wave of holidaymakers heading abroad, and with it a familiar set of risks that a little preparation can help avoid. In mid-June 2024, ABTA – The Travel Association attended a briefing hosted by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) as part of its Travel Aware summer campaign, designed to help travellers stay safe and enjoy trouble-free trips.

The message from the event was simple but worth repeating: a few practical checks before you leave can make the difference between a smooth holiday and an expensive, stressful one.

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What the FCDO's summer campaign is asking travellers to do

This year the FCDO placed particular emphasis on young people and on travellers heading to major sporting events, two groups that often combine high spirits with unfamiliar surroundings. The core request is straightforward: check the UK government's travel advice for your destination before you book and again before you go, because guidance on safety, local laws and entry requirements can change.

Alongside this, the campaign stressed the importance of taking out appropriate travel insurance. A policy that genuinely matches your trip – covering medical treatment, the activities you plan to do, and any pre-existing conditions – is one of the simplest ways to protect yourself against the cost of things going wrong abroad. Travelling without it, or with cover that does not fit the trip, is a gamble that can prove very expensive.

ABTA works closely with the FCDO on information campaigns of this kind, which are intended to help prevent travellers running into problems in the first place. The association said it would support the summer push by sharing FCDO information across its social media channels, and it encouraged its members to do the same so that consistent, reliable advice reaches as many travellers as possible.

Looking ahead to the EU's new border systems

The briefing also looked further down the road to two significant changes at the European Union's external border: the Entry/Exit System (EES) and the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS). At the time of the event, the EU had not yet confirmed when either system would be introduced, and the industry was still waiting for firm implementation dates.

Even without confirmed timings, ABTA urged its members to familiarise themselves with both systems now and to understand what they might mean for their customers. EES is set to replace manual passport stamping with digital records and biometric checks for non-EU visitors, while ETIAS will introduce a pre-travel authorisation for visa-exempt travellers. To help members prepare, ABTA pointed to a webinar and Q&A session in its Member Zone, along with consumer information on its website. Travellers who want a plain-language summary of how the two schemes fit together can read the ETIAS and EES overview before they travel.

A simple checklist for a safer summer

For holidaymakers, the take-aways are easy to act on: read the FCDO's travel advice for your destination, buy insurance that matches your plans, keep an eye out for updates on the EU's new border requirements, and book through a reputable provider. Together these steps make an unwelcome surprise far less likely once you are away.

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