Convention special: Book on a credit card, Pirie says
The travel industry has an unhealthy obsession with traditional protection schemes when simply booking on a credit card would safeguard customers’ money, said Travel Republic managing director Kane Pirie.
Speaking in a question and answer session at the Travel Convention with moderator Bill Turnbull, he advised people to buy their holidays on plastic.
“We have an unhealthy obsession with air travel organiser’s licence (ATOL) protection,” said Pirie.
“There’s an endless debate but meanwhile in the background, the banks have put in place a system that is robust.
“The best advice for booking travel arrangements is to do it on a credit card. It’s more reliable than the ATOL system.”
When someone from the audience pointed out that sometimes the cost to the consumer of paying by credit card is more than the cost of buying insurance to protect against a company failure, Pirie said visa debit cards, which don’t generally incur a fee, also offered financial protection.
However, according to the government consumer website directgov and the Air Transport Users Council, only card transactions worth £100 or more are protected under the Consumer Credit Act.
In a well-documented case, the Civil Aviation Authority prosecuted both Travel Republic and Kane Pirie over breach of ATOL regulations and lost.
Pirie told Turnbull that the personal prosecution had taken a heavy toll on him.
“It put a lot of pressure on me and my wife, who didn’t really understand what it was about,” he said.
However, he argued that Travel Republic customers were well protected by its own scheme.
“We put in place a scheme two years ago which also covers scheduled flights. When Globespan went down we refunded all customers within a month,” he said.
As the discussion with Turnbull changed tack, Pirie criticised the media for focusing on negative aspects of the travel industry and predicted that the massive travel industry consolidation of recent years would continue.
“On the distribution side, there will be a smaller number of larger players on a global basis.”
By Jeremy Skidmore
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Digital Travel Reporter of the Mirror totally seduced by HotelPlanner AI Travel Agent
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports