Once again, it has so far been a thoroughly miserable summer for British holidaymakers!  Poor standards in holiday contracts, complete failures to provide consumer rights under the Package Travel Regulations, mass holiday sickness, reports of salmonella, e coli, cryptosporidium and other diseases, and now the collapse of Monster (which appears to have its bookings being honoured by The Freedom Travel Group) and Goldtrail, which has resulted in some 16,000 holidaymakers being stranded abroad and many others in the UK whose holiday plans are now in doubt! Read More

I was struck by the article from Travel Weekly (8/7/2010), in which concern was expressed that agents would be in line to receive more complaints from Travel Consumers, as a result of an EU Commission led campaign, to highlight their rights where they suffer with flight or rail delays, denied boarding or cancellations!  Indeed, ABTA described the information campaign as ‘unhelpful’ and that they were concerned that the views of the travel industry had not been accounted for before the campaign was launched!  This was followed by an apparent comment from the Association’s spokesperson, who is reported to have stated, “The posters do not reflect our interpretation of the regulations and we don’t want confusion. We are asking the EC to review the campaign” – further comment was made that the regulations were drafted for a purpose and not drafted to deal with issues such as the recent Volcano Travel Crisis! Read More

Since 2008 we have expressed serious concerns over the health and safety standards operated in the popular holiday resorts in Egypt.  We began by asking if Egypt was the ‘new’ Dominican Republic for Holiday Illness and Complaints?  In that article we suggested that it would be well for the Egyptian tourist authorities to learn from the Dominican Republic experience; it appears that they did not!  Less than 2 weeks later, we again expressed concern over the range of holiday complaints and problems reported to us; apart from illness complaints we were also hearing  how complaining holidaymakers were being ‘bullied’ out of making complaints!  We again called on the Egyptian Authorities to act; it appears that they did not!  In July 2009, we again called for the Egyptian Authorities to act upon the growing number of complaints and illnesses reported to us; again, it appears that they did not!  We again express our concerns! Read More

The recent events of the Icelandic Volcano Crisis demonstrated the fragility of our transport system if affected by a natural or man-made disaster!  Many thousands of travel plans were disrupted and many air passengers and holidaymakers encountered difficulties in getting assistance from airlines.  This Organisation, like many others, championed the route to resolution of these travel complaints through the rights and obligations contained within EU Directive 261/2004 – The Flight Delay, Cancellation and Denied Boarding Rights Directive! Read More

It is almost 12 months since we called for an EU-wide Vessel Sanitation Program!  Since September 2009, we have received 15 distinct reports of alleged holiday illness outbreaks on-board cruise ships; indeed one ship has now featured on 6 separate occasions within our ‘Call to Arms’ section!  Holidaymakers are reporting a wide variety of problems on-board different cruise ships; here are 20 examples of some of the real holiday cruise complaints we have received: Read More

[Article first published 19/2/2010] I was in London last week discussing amongst other things, the future Consumer Objective and Regulation of the Airline Industry in the UK.  During that meeting, I discussed with one member of the stakeholder group, the issue of safety and in particular, the growing awareness surrounding the Aerotoxic or Sick Aircraft Syndrome issue.  I expressed the view that whatever the current enquiry commissioned by Parliament, this issue is real and will not go away.  I predicted that whilst some ‘interested parties’ are engaged in ‘naysayer’ activities on this subject, the next 3 to 5 years will see the growth of groups of airline passengers taking action because of their exposure to toxic fumes!  As if to underline this point, today’s news surrounding the emergency landing of a British airline jet, is surely a timely warning to the industry and the authorities! Read More

If this summer holiday season has taught nothing else, it is that there are many holidaymakers returning with complaints of illness and are simply not getting themselves checked out by their GP or local Environmental Health Officer.  Why is this important? Quite simple really – QED – Quick and Early Diagnosis!  Consider this: at a recent conference I attended, one speaker advised that of all holiday sickness or illness reports, some 40% go on to suffer a permanent condition or disability!  So much for the ‘Spanish Tummy’, ‘Turkey Trots’ or Pharoahs Revenge’ Brigade! Read More