At a glance
Discover the figures for Redion's medical and technical interventions during summer 2019
Redion reviews its medical and technical interventions (car breakdowns) during summer 2019
- Between 28/06/2019 and 29/08/2019, Redion recorded a little under 90,000 assistance requests, a drop of 8% compared to the same period in 2018, due to a lower number of technical cases.
- The number of medical problems abroad is almost the same as last year (+0.2%), while car breakdowns abroad decreased compared to the same period in 2018 (-10%).
- Medical cases involve 4 young people out of 10 (aged 0 to 20). They're more frequently affected by gastroenterology, ENT and infection problems.
More than 1,440 assistance requests per day
- From Friday 28 June to Wednesday 29 August 2019 inclusive, Redion recorded 89,666 assistance requests (phone calls and assistance requests via e-mail and app), a decrease of 8% vs. 2018.
- The peak in assistance requests was on Friday 26 July: 2,312 calls, largely due to the intense heat.
- Average number of assistance requests per day: 1,437.
- The first big waves of Belgian holidaymakers heading south took place after the second (13-14/07) and third holiday weekend (20-21/07).
Same number of medical cases abroad as last year
Since the start of summer, Redion has recorded 2,169 medical cases abroad, almost the same number (+0.2%) compared to the same period in 2018, a period that was already very busy. Due to the (very) hot weather in the first half of the holiday period, the number of medical cases rose slightly in July. In August, however, this number fell slightly.
The largest number of medical cases was opened in France (18%), mainland Spain + islands (11%), Italy (6%), the USA (5%), Greece (4%) and Turkey (4%).
73% of cases were opened in Europe, 9% in Asia, 6% in Africa, 6% in Central and South America, 5% in North America, and 1% in the Middle East and Oceania.
The most common types of medical problems are related to trauma, fractures, injuries (42%), infections (12%), gastroenterological problems (9%) and cardiovascular problems (3%). 23% of medical cases led to hospitalisation.
During the summer period, Redion opened 16 death cases abroad. For the assistance provider, this number is in line with previous years. The causes of death are generally mainly related to road accidents (car, motorbike, bicycle, etc.), followed by medical problems (strokes, heart disease, etc.) or accidents at the holiday destination, following physical exertion during sport, or simply physical effort (for example, someone with a heart condition going for a walk in the middle of a heatwave).
These trends show how important it is to be well informed and well prepared in advance and, if necessary, to be accompanied by local professionals, when activities planned at the holiday destination are rarely or never practised at home.
Medical cases affect almost 4 young people out of 10
The youngest travellers (aged 0 to 17 inclusive) account for 34% of medical cases opened. If we add young people aged 18, 19 and 20, this percentage even rises to 39%, i.e. almost 4 travellers out of 10! \
When analysing the breakdown of condition types by age group, it's clear that – due to their vulnerability – the youngest are the most affected by gastroenterology problems (such as "traveller's diarrhoea"), infections (childhood or tropical infections) and ENT problems (throat, nose or ear infections, including mumps). Cardiovascular diseases are, logically, more common among older people from their forties onwards.
Trauma (injuries, fractures, bruises…) affects all age groups, although these conditions are slightly more common among teenagers (probably due to greater risk-taking, including in sports activities).
Vehicle technical assistance cases down
Car breakdowns decreasing in Belgium and abroad
During summer 2019, Redion recorded 15,517 technical cases in Belgium. Note that this figure includes technical problems that occur during daily commutes as well as leisure trips within Belgium.
Abroad, Redion opened 3,730 cases for vehicle technical interventions, including (among others) 47% in France, 9% in Spain, 9% in Germany, 6% in Luxembourg, 6% in the Netherlands and 5% in Italy. High temperatures in certain regions and during certain periods don't seem to have had a bigger impact than the previous year on the number of technical problems.
The most common types of technical interventions were mainly related to engine, battery and starting problems (70%, mostly due to hot weather), breakdowns caused inadvertently (keys locked in the vehicle, wrong fuel, punctures, 17%), and accidents (9%).
Interventions all over the world
During summer 2019, Redion carried out interventions for Belgian holidaymakers in the countries shown in red on the map below (medical assistance everywhere in the world, as well as vehicle breakdown assistance in Europe):
