New research has revealed that 72% of people have forgotten something when packing for their holiday, while 35% of people say they wouldn't go on the trip if they forgot their phone.
A recent survey of 1,000 Irish people has revealed the items that are most likely to be accidentally left behind.
The survey, commissioned by car hire excess insurance providers iCarhireinsurance.ie, reveals that most commonly forgotten items are:
- Sun cream: 26%
- Toiletries: 20%
- Sunglasses: 20%
- Phone or device chargers: 20%
- Pyjamas: 16%
The survey revealed that men are the most likely to forget to pack something at 76%, compared to just 68% of women, a gap that only widens on the return leg with 74% of men saying they left something behind on holiday, compared with 57% of women.
Further research said that over half of Irish people (52%) travelling said they would be stressed out if they left something behind, with 28% saying that the stress has resulted in arguments.
Over one-third of people (34%) said that they replaced items they had forgotten while 17% said that they incurred a significant cost for their misplaced item.
Meanwhile, 12% of people have ended up missing flights because they didn't bring everything they needed.
The most common item that is most likely to cause a missed flight if forgotten is foreign currency with 42% of people saying they'd skip their travel plans if they left their money behind.
Other items that would make travellers cancel their plans include:
- 35% wouldn’t go on holiday if they forgot their phone
- 31% wouldn’t go if they forgot their keys
- 28% would skip flights if travel insurance documents were forgotten
- 25% would skip a holiday if they’d forgotten prescription medicine
Founder and CEO of iCarhireinsurance.ie Ernesto Suarez said that making "checklists, packing tidily, and double-checking important items with another person" can help avoid these stressful situations."
"Forgotten items can cause serious headaches for holidaymakers, he said.
"With one-quarter (25%) of travellers saying they’d miss flights if they forgot their insurance documents, we wanted to investigate what people are likely to forget and how this can be avoided in the future."
