New rules regarding holiday cancellation charges set to be announced
New rules regarding holiday cancellation charges are likely to be introduced following a campaign by a national newspaper.
The Competitions & Markets Authority is expected to announce that holidaymakers should no longer automatically forfeit all of their deposits if they are forced to cancel trips due to death or ill health.
The Telegraph, which handed the CMA a dossier of readers’ complaints in January, said thousands of older holidaymakers have to cancel holidays each year due to their own or their spouse’s or another relative’s sickness.
However, many operators automatically refuse to refund deposits, even when they manage to re-sell the holiday, cruise or flight to someone else.
Telegraph Money said it believed that as a result of its action, the regulator is due to publish new rules regarding unfair terms in consumer contracts legislation, which covers holiday deposits.
It claimed it had seen private correspondence between an MP and the CMA suggesting the rules would be modernised.
In 2014, pensioner David Bruce Crawcour scored a court victory against TUI after it tried to keep 100% of his deposit when he cancelled a holiday two weeks before departure due to his wife’s illness, even though he believed the operator had resold the trip. The judge ordered TUI to refund Mr Crawcour £2,236.
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 
Global tourism exceeds 1.5 billion travelers announces UN-Tourism
Qatar Airways offers reduced timetable to over 60 destinations
WTTC global tourism reached record economic impact of 11 trillion in 2025
Hands In, UATP join forces for airline multi-card payments
Overseas travelers to the United States declined by 2.5% in 2025