Tour operator failures up last year
There were 13 ATOL failures in the financial year to March 31, compared to 11 the year before.
According to the latest financial statements from the Air Travel Trust, the failures represented an estimated cost to the ATT of £3.8m, up significantly from £0.8m in 2012/13.
But the ATT said even with this increase, the levels were low and manageable, partly thanks to key reforms like the introduction of Flight-plus in April 2012.
"The last 12 months has continued to be a challenging environment for travel operators, however despite this, the number of ATOL holder failures has remained low, with the total cost easily being managed from current reserves," said chair Michael Medlicott.
"Furthermore during this period, the CAA has introduced new and innovative ways to help consumers continue their holiday, if and when a travel operator collapses, which has helped to significantly lower claim costs in some cases.
"Both these factors have enabled the Trust to increase its surplus during the year by £36.7m, from £18m to £54.7m, and consequently it is no longer reliant on its borrowing facilities.
"This development, along with the increasingly established ATOL certificate, should continue to reinforce the message to consumers that they are financially protected and help grow confidence in ATOL protected holidays over the coming year."
The report shows the ATT received £51.7m in ATOL Protection Contributions (APC) from 21.5m passengers during 2013/2014, compared to £46.6m from 19.2m passengers in the previous year.
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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