AITO hits back at ‘scaremongering’ over small travel firms
Wednesday, 20 Aug, 2010
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AITO has hit out at ‘scaremongering’ claims in the media, in the wake of the Kiss Flights collapse, that booking with small travel firms is more risky.
AITO Chairman Derek Moore said: "Industry pundits have short memories – or maybe they are too young to remember that major collapses involving the giants of the tour operating industry such as Court Line, ILG and (a close call) Airtours a few years ago involved hundreds of thousands of members of the public rather than thousands.
“Being large offers no guarantees that a company will not collapse – in fact, the old adage, ‘the larger they are, the harder they fall’ often applies."
He pointed out that all 140 AITO companies exceeded current government rules on financial protection as members are required to protect accommodation-only purchases as well as full packages.
Moore added: “This is a complex area but the public would be well advised to book their holiday arrangements via one contract with a full service tour operator.
“Typically, booking holiday arrangements on the web via two or three different entities is what causes problems when things go wrong.
“Consumers only then realize that they have two or more separate contracts and that if one contract – for example the flight contract – goes awry they are still required to fulfill the other contracts.”
by Debbie Ward
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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