“My family suffered from salmonella food poisoning at The Holiday Village Turkey this year in July. I know there are lots of us (trip advisor, solicitors comments etc) but what can be done to protect people still being sent to this hotel? If a resort in this country had such a terrible record of food poisoning over 4 years wouldnt it be closed down?” (EM1808) Read More

HolidayTravelWatch continues to receive many complaints from holidaymakers concerning their experiences.  Such complaints can range from holiday company collapses, airline flight delays or cancellations, bullying of holidaymakers who make complaints, serious gastric illness, confirmed illnesses such as Salmonella, Cryptosporidium or Shigella.  We also hear from holidaymakers who report poor standards in hotel accommodation, poor hygiene practices – such as birds eating food, flies on food or sewage smells.  Many complaints are simply met with indifference by hotel staff or tour company representatives, which causes further angst amongst holidaymakers, particularly when they have often paid many thousands of pounds for the privilege of suffering this abuse in their contract! Read More

The Directors of HolidayTravelWatch were deeply saddened to hear of the deaths of two ‘Guardia Civil’ Officers, following the bomb blast in Palma Nova, Majorca, on Thursday last week.  Deepest sympathies and heartfelt respect are offered to the families of the deceased.  It should be recognised that the ‘travel industry family’ does not just extend to those who strictly work in the industry, but also in the many ancillary services that provide support to a local economy.  We recognise that local police, in whatever country, often have to deal with many difficult situations for and on behalf of holidaymakers, it is criminal that officers working many hundreds of miles from the centre of this dispute should be struck down so callously. Read More

Since the beginning of 2009, HolidayTravelWatch has received complaints from a number of holidaymakers returning from Egypt.  Many report that they are suffering with serious illnesses and we have noted that we have entered sixteen (16) such hotels/river boats onto our ‘Call to Arms’ feature, which helps holidaymakers find others who have had similar experiences to themselves.  Indeed, in 2008, so concerned were we, we asked the question, ‘Is Egypt the new Dominican Republic for Holiday Illness?’  Are the same issues relevant in 2009? Read More

Serious concerns are again being raised by HolidayTravelWatch over the health & safety standards at The Holiday Village, in Sarigerme, Turkey.  Since May this year, the Organisation has received complaints from British holidaymakers concerning the standards and illnesses they have suffered at this hotel. Read More

HolidayTravelWatch has recently dealt with complaints from holidaymakers, following their cruise aboard the MS Thomson Spirit, during the Iberian Delights Cruise in May 2009.  It is now of concern that further complaints are being made about the previous cruise.  This Organisation discovered that a number of holidaymakers were ill during both cruises, all expressing concern on the standards on board the ship.  Read More

The news that a British Aircaft was subject to a smoke or fume event requiring evacuation of some 300 passengers and crew, is a timely reminder of the Aerotoxic Syndrome debate.  The question of what caused this event to occur is we hope still a matter for further investigation.  However, it was clear from the report that a number of passengers were overcome by fumes, but we are not assisted as to how many received assistance following this exposure.  The issue leads to a number of questions and we hope that the Committee of Toxicity (COT), the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have considered, irrespective of which airline is involved or whatever the cause of a smoke or fume event, to be a welcome opportunity to create an important set of guidelines on how such events should be monitored, for example, they should co-ordinate to ensure that: Read More