At a glance
During summer 2021, Redion Belgium recorded many requests for technical assistance but fewer medical cases than in 2019.
During summer 2021, Redion Belgium recorded far more requests for technical assistance in Belgium and abroad than during the "normal" summer of 2019, but fewer medical cases.
Compared with summer 2020, assistance requests of all kinds were far more numerous.
COVID-19 and the 2021 summer holidays
The figures and trends below show that the choice of holiday destinations and means of transport, as well as the evolution of COVID-19 related health and administrative measures, had a major impact on assistance requests during the 2021 holiday months.
More assistance calls
Between 02/07 and 25/08, Redion recorded a 4% increase in the number of assistance calls (phone calls and emails) compared with the same period in 2019. The vast majority of these calls concerned breakdown assistance in Belgium and abroad. What's more, assistance requests due to severe weather during the month of July kept the number of calls very high for several weeks.
Fewer medical problems abroad
During the summer months of 2021, Redion opened fewer medical cases abroad, a drop of 14% compared with the same period in 2019 (but a rise of 133% compared with the same holiday months in 2020, when holidaymakers barely travelled at all). 87% of cases were opened in Europe.
Measures affecting the travel sector and travel behaviour, as well as the risks linked to COVID-19, led travellers to mainly choose European destinations and take fewer risks.
The majority of medical cases (Top 5) were opened in France 26%, Spain + islands 17%, Italy 9%, Greece 7%, Portugal 3%.
Types of conditions: trauma, fractures, injuries 42%, infections (both COVID-19 related and other illnesses) 16%, gastroenterological problems 7%, cardiovascular problems 6%.
Between 2 July and 25 August 2021, 98 medical cases linked to Covid-19 infections were opened.
More vehicle breakdowns abroad
Abroad, between 02/07 and 25/08/2021, Redion recorded a 15% increase in the number of cases opened for technical assistance to vehicles. This increase even reaches +55% compared with 2020. Most requests (Top 5) came from France 49%, Spain 8%, Italy 8%, Germany 7% and the Netherlands 6%.
Most frequent types of technical interventions: engine, battery and starting problems 70%, technical problems caused inadvertently (keys locked in the vehicle, wrong fuel, punctures) 18%, accidents 9%.
Far more vehicle breakdowns in Belgium
The number of assistance requests for car breakdowns in Belgium rose sharply, +59% compared with the same period in 2019. Many Belgians spent their holidays in Belgium. What's more, the severe weather that hit certain parts of the country in July generated many requests for technical assistance. The figures are also affected by a rise in the number of customers since the start of 2021.
Atypical holidays again in 2021
The trends from Redion's 2021 Holiday Barometer were confirmed: holidaymakers opted more than ever for European destinations, travelled with their family bubble and preferably by car. The spread of the Delta variant and the colour codes that vary from one destination to another, combined with health and administrative requirements (quarantine, Covid certificate, PCR tests, etc.), made planning a holiday more complicated.
Redion Belgium stepped in (almost) everywhere in the world
Despite the health measures and travel restrictions in place in many countries, particularly outside Europe, Redion Belgium opened assistance cases this summer on every continent (120 countries). Although far-flung destinations were less popular than during "classic summers", the map below shows that assistance requests poured in from all over the world.
The map illustrates the total, by colour code, of medical cases recorded worldwide and of technical interventions carried out on vehicles in Europe.
