Choosing the Right Holiday Loan

Travel Insurance and Car Rental Shortages

Author: Jean Andrews
Source: ezinearticles.com

During times of economic recession in many aspects of travel may be affected in unexpected ways. We have become accustomed to the easy availability of cheap flights, accommodation and car rental and online booking for all holiday as a "DIY" – often at the last moment – from the comfort of our homes. However, during the summer of 2009 something new happened to affect the tourism industry into trouble. Many tourists heading to southern tourist spots of Europe, including popular destinations in Spain and Portugal, were caught during a critical shortage of rental cars. There were reports of frantic passengers (including those who had made reservations) to arrive at your destination airport and being told that there are no cars available, or being forced into a vehicle bigger or luxury vastly inflated prices. The few cars that were available were of rental prices of two or three times higher than normal. Due to the recession, and the assumption that fewer people are going on holiday abroad, a sharply reduced percentage of rented cars were made available to rental companies in places like Spain and Portugal during the peak summer travel 2009. The demand for rental cars remained strong, however, surprising everyone in the industry and causing headaches for car rental companies – and crushing disappointment and concern for thousands of tourists. It was learned, contrary to the predictions of many, one of the last people that things were ready to give up their holidays in the Mediterranean was an annual summer! The dismal British summer also contributed to the problem as the sun of many private British decided to make last-minute reservations for flights and accommodation – only to discover after the fact that it was impossible to book a rental car. If you feel the need to get out of the rat race for peace and tranquility and are tempted to book that romantic villa located in a remote and isolated, it is desirable to ensure your rental car in advance – and perhaps even before to reserve no more. Would also be worth doing some research to see if there are proper means of public transportation in the area, and the cost of a taxi to go around – just in case. Travel Insurance is an essential part of planning any trip or vacation and it is foolish to travel without it. However, travel insurance is unlikely to be of some help if you are left or left out of pocket by having to cancel or change flights or a system due to lack of availability of rental cars at your destination. We can only hope that the problems of summer 2009 will not recur, but why take a chance in the future. Plan ahead and check availability of rental cars before booking your vacation!

Jean Andrews is a freelance writer living in the UK. She regularly contributes articles for Travel Insurance Agencies Ltd who offer great deals on UK Travel Insurance and Travel Insurance for residents of Eire.