Europcar Discovers Travel Stress Giving Brits a Serious Case of PHT

LONDON, Aug. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Europcar has discovered in its latest survey that for over half a million Brits*, their last trip to the airport was 'one of the most stressful experiences of their lives'.

According to the new survey** 24% of Brits admitted to suffering PHT (Pre-Holiday Tension) as their best-laid travel plans start to unravel. Nearly a million*** holidaymakers (2%) have actually missed their flight altogether due to one of the causes of PHT, which include delayed or cancelled buses or trains (suffered by 16% of Brits); booked taxis that are late or don't turn up (14%); anxiety about leaving something behind (12%) and having to turn back mid-journey because they've forgotten something (5%).

The survey also found that it was Londoners who appeared to be the worst sufferers of Pre-Holiday Tension, with 31% reporting that their last airport trip was stressful.

With plenty of Brits still to jet off on their summer break, 11% said that they expected their next trip to the airport, by train, bus or taxi, to be the worst part of their trip and 2.4m**** holidaymakers (6%) admit that they are 'dreading it'; but the journey to the airport doesn't always have to be a stressful start to a holiday.

According to Catriona Kempston of Europcar, "A significant number of people suffer a trying journey to the airport which is hardly the best start to a long awaited holiday. We want to make the driving experience as easy as possible for our customers and Airport Connect may also be a cheaper alternative to leaving a car at the airport car park or taking a train or taxi. With Airport Connect Plus there is no need to worry about prangs en route to the airport. Being involved in or worrying about an accident on the way to the airport would definitely ruin your holiday."

The Europcar Airport Connect service offers an alternative to risking delayed or cancelled trains and taxis, as well as providing free hire car delivery to the doorstep at a time that suits them.

Notes to editors:

* 1.2% of population (49.121m) = 589,425

** Opinium Research surveyed 2,004 UK adults between 21st and 22nd July 2010. Results have been weighted to nationally representative criteria.

*** 1.9% of population = 933,299

**** 4.9% (which equates to the 6% who are planning a holiday) of population = 2,406,929

About Europcar:

Europcar is the European leader in passenger car and light utility vehicle rentals. The company serves business and leisure customers throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. Excluding franchise operations, in 2009 Europcar signed 9.5 million rental contracts, with 7,000 employees and a fleet exceeding 190,000 vehicles. In September 2008, Europcar and U.S. market leader Enterprise Holdings joined forces in a strategic commercial alliance to form the world's largest car hire network, with more than 1.2 million vehicles and 13,000 locations around the world. Europcar is owned by the French investment company Eurazeo.

Europcar is the European market leader and is also leading in its environmental approach to car rental. It opened its first "environmental agency" in Paris in 1999, and in 2008 it was the first company in Europe to have its "Environmental Charter" - which formalizes its commitments in favor of sustainable development - certified by Bureau Veritas.

SOURCE Europcar