ABTA slams Holiday Which? report – UPDATED

ABTA has defended the travel industry against a report issued by Holiday Which? magazine warning consumers they won’t get the best deals from holiday brochures.

The magazine said its investigation into First Choice, My Travel, Thomas Cook and Thomson discovered costly ‘extras’ on the advertised brochure price.

It advised consumers to read brochure smallprint and check operators’ websites before booking.

Its report said Thomas Cook had the most expensive brochure price and customers would save £468 by booking with Thomas Cook online instead of booking through its JMC brochure.

Airtours scored best in the investigation for value both in the brochure.

But ABTA said the investigation shows a complete misunderstanding of the workings of the travel industry.

“The magazine claims that brochures do not include all unavoidable prices in its headline price and then cites four examples of additional charges, three of which, are not obligatory,” said a spokesman.

“The examples highlighted, charging for extra legroom, pre-booking of airline seats and under occupancy charges, are optional and should not be included in a headline brochure price.

“The magazine also claims that it is cheaper to book online than to book using a brochure. Brochures are printed months in advance and will advertise a price that might be charged for a holiday even though customers may subsequently pay less, subject to the forces of supply and demand. Websites are updated on a regular basis and will therefore reflect changes in price as a matter of course.”
Holiday Which? editor Loran Cowen said: “The Holiday Which? report on brochure pricing looked at the prices that are quoted in the Summer 2007 brochures of the main four tour operators: First Choice, My Travel, Thomas Cook and Thomson.

“When it comes to booking package holidays, many of our readers use brochures as their first port of call, and make holiday decisions based on the prices that are printed inside.

“We wanted to highlight the fact that savings could be made on the same holiday (going to the same resort, same hotel, flying from the same airport, on the same date) just by shopping around and looking at different brochures. In the scenario we used in our January 2007 issue, we found there was nearly £250 difference between the least and most expensive brochure price – a saving that we believed our readers, and other consumers, would be interested in.

“The fuel supplements and flight supplements that were added on to the basic price of the holiday are compulsory, and although not always necessary, we did include the price of an in-flight meal. We compared like for like, and did not add extras, such as pre-booked seats and extra leg-room or indeed under-occupancy charges, on to the prices that were highlighted.

“Holiday Which? also looked at the advantages of booking online, and mentioned that there were differences between the prices stated in the brochure and those given on the relevant websites. We are well aware that travel agents in the high street might also give discounts, but this wasn’t part of our research.

“The main focus of the report was to look at the package prices in popular tour operators’ brochures and give our readers tips on how to get the best deals.”

By Bev Fearis