ABTA to launch health and safety audit tool
ABTA is to launch an initiative in early 2007 giving members the chance to access a health and safety database of properties worldwide.
Unveiling the scheme at the association’s convention in Marbella, chief executive Mark Tanzer said the move was in response to the changing face of the industry.
He said: “The traditional distinction between operator and agent is becoming more blurred with more companies offering flexible packaging. They risk taking on the role of principal and therefore having legal liability if things go wrong, but they don’t have the scale to warrant having their own auditing scheme. By pooling the resources our members can book hotels with confidence.”
Tanzer said ABTA was currently in negotiations with a handful of companies who supply health and safety auditing, ready for a launch in the first quarter.
The pricing policy has not yet been finalised but the more properties an agent enquires about, the cheaper it would become.
“I see real benefits in terms of quality, standards, reputation and consumer confidence – all the things that ABTA traditionally stands for,” he added.
ABTA said the scheme was in the pipeline prior to the deaths of two children in a Corfu hotel apartment.
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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