The Travel Industry
It is essential that when you are making your travel arrangements that you book with an agent, operator or arranger who carries membership of one of the following organisations.
By placing your booking with such a member, you are ‘buying’ extra consumer protection through bonding arrangements should an element of your travel fail, and youmay be able to benefit from the additional facilities of a complaints process should that agent, operator or arranger fail to deliver timely responses to your complaint.
In certain circumstances you can invoke an arbitration process to settle your dispute.
Below are brief summaries for each of the organisations along with an appropriate link for further information.
Notwithstanding this information, always carry comprehensive travel insurance and always seek independent legal advice where you encounter difficulties.
Note: The photographs displayed on this page, as indeed on the whole site, do not imply that their subject matter are the direct or indirect fault of the organisations featured on this page. The organisations are either trade or governmental bodies and as such simply represent tour operators on wider issues, or require their compliance with laws, rules or codes of conduct specific to their industry.
THE ASSOCIATION OF BRITISH TRAVEL AGENTS
The Association of British Travel Agents is the UK’s Premier Trade Association for Tour Operators and Travel Agents. ABTA’s membership currently includes some 1052 tour operator and 6310 travel agency offices that are responsible for the sale of some 85% of UK-sold holidays. ABTA expects each of its members to comply with its code of conduct, and can assist holidaymakers to commence the arbitration process in certain cases. ABTA requires its members to be bonded for the protection of holidaymakers in the event that the tour operator goes out of business.
HTW has noted that amongst the submissions to the Committee on Toxicity (COT) it has been suggested that the symptoms highlighted by crew and passengers were akin to the condition of hyperventilation.
HTW has for many years received reports from concerned holiday makers or independent travellers as to the safety of their aircraft, ship or boat, train or road transport.
