Following the attacks in English cities London and
Manchester, travel insurance provider Allianz Global Assistance reported on
Tuesday that it has received 70 claims from U.S. travelers canceling
their London trips.
Prior to the Manchester attack on May 22, Allianz had done
an analysis of summer travel, which found a 37% year-over-year increase in
Americans choosing to travel to London between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
The company had reviewed more than 10 million trips planned
by customers during the summer season of 2015, 2016 and 2017 and found that
London and Paris still ranked first and second, respectively, as the most
popular European destinations for summer travel.
They were followed by Rome, Athens, Barcelona, Dublin,
Amsterdam, Madrid, Frankfurt and Venice.
"Despite continued terrorist activity in Europe and
corresponding U.S. State Department travel warnings, Americans won't be
deterred in their desire to visit iconic European destinations," said Daniel
Durazo, director of communications at Allianz Global Assistance USA.
However, Allianz is seeing increased interest in protecting
those trips.
"Many travelers are interested in purchasing travel
insurance so that they may have the option to cancel or interrupt their trip
should there be a terrorist event at their destination within 30 days of their
arrival," said Durazo.