Holiday claims company slams travel industry following Bangkok bomb
A holiday ‘watchdog’ has accused the travel industry of failing to warn customers of the risks present in various overseas destinations following this week’s bomb in Bangkok.
HolidayTravelWatch said there was ‘a general failure by the travel industry to offer a clear picture and provide full information about a given destination and its dangers’.
It claimed the bombing of a Bangkok religious shrine, which killed 22 including nine tourists and one Briton, highlighted ‘the nebulous line between Foreign Office travel advices and what is sold in a brochure’.
HolidayTravelWatch said it had noted for some time the threat posed from the southeast of Thailand and the insurgency which has led to the Foreign Office warning against ‘all but essential travel’ in that region.
"It is also evident that Thailand has been coping with widespread civil unrest in 2013 which resulted in a military coup in May 2014," it said.
The watchdog’s consumer director Frank Brehany said: "Whilst I have no problem with any country promoting its tourism, it must do so responsibly and not see tourists simply as a means to prop up other failures in its economy or to project normalcy – consumers deserve better than that.
"The travel industry is failing to fully advise holidaymakers as to the risks that they may face in any particular destination.
"It is no longer tenable to simply state that terrorism or attacks can happen anywhere in the world; the travel industry must help consumers to mitigate that risk."
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
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