The cost of forgetting: Brits leave £1,871 worth of items in holiday hotspots, on average

• Clothing (42%), chargers (32%), sunglasses (28%), and toiletries (28%) top the list for most common items Brits leave on holiday
• Nearly 6 in 10 (59%) couldn't recover the item they lost on holiday
• A further 49% of Brits were left out of pocket, replacing the lost items themselves
• Travel experts at Confused.com explain what to do if you lose an item on holiday

Almost £2,000 worth of items have been left on holiday, on average, new research finds. That's as nearly half (48%) of holidaymakers admit to mistakenly leaving their belongings behind on holiday in the UK and abroad, according to travel insurance experts at Confused.com.

With the summer season approaching, many Brits will be looking forward to upcoming holiday plans. Yet, what many don't realise is that forgetting items when on holiday can hike holiday costs up even further.

Clothing (42%), chargers (32%), sunglasses (28%), and toiletries (28%) top the list for most common items Brits leave on holiday. Yet, the research found that there are even more belongings Brits are leaving behind.

After losing or leaving belongings on holiday, nearly 6 in 10 (59%) couldn't recover the displaced item. This resulted in nearly half (49%) of Brits being left out of pocket, replacing their lost items themselves.

For 14%, they had to buy an emergency item replacement at inflated airport or resort prices. Meanwhile, 10% had to pay unexpected transport costs to go back and look for the item, hiking the overall cost of their holiday up even further.

Some items would be seen as sentimental, and losing these items could be distressing and disappointing, as well as having a negative impact on the holiday. Over a third (36%) of holidaymakers who lost or left behind an item were left feeling guilty or stupid as a result.

An item going missing when people are away, no matter what it is, can be extremely frustrating. For nearly 4 in 10 (39%), the hardest part of losing items was the inconvenience, followed by the financial cost of replacing the item (19%) and the belongings' sentimental value (16%).

For the quarter (25%) of people who realised their item was missing while on holiday, almost a sixth (16%) spent hours of their holiday trying to find their misplaced valuables.

Yet for 55% of those who lost something when on holiday, they didn't realise until after they got home. Luckily, for a sixth (16%), they were able to retrieve their belongings, with their hotel sending them back to them.

With many Brits being impacted by losing an item on holiday, there are various precautions people are now taking to keep their items safe on holiday. Half (50%) of holidaygoers store their valuable items in the hotel safe. Whereas 49% of Brits don't take their valuables away at all. But in contrast, over a third (34%) choose to carry their valuable items with them.

There is no right or wrong way for people to protect their belongings when enjoying their holiday, but certain actions could be seen as riskier than others.

Over a quarter (21%) of Brits have been a victim of theft when on holiday abroad and in the UK and have lost something that belongs to them as a result.

Experiencing theft on holiday abroad had an impact on the victims, with nearly half (49%) being out of pocket and replacing the item themselves. Of the victims, just 39% reported the theft to the police, and for a further 34%, the experience ruined their holiday.

Not only can losing possessions on holiday be inconvenient, it can be unsettling and costly. And without insurance protection for certain items, holidaygoers could lose a lot more money than originally expected. That's why travel experts at Confused.com produced a guide to help holidaygoers understand what to do if they lose an item while on holiday.

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Notes to editors