Report by Tanya Jefferies
AGENTS have criticised ABTA’s new guidelines that suggest
operators give equal prominence to agent contact details as well as direct
numbers, claiming they should be made compulsory.
The ABTA board agreed to amend its Standards on Brochures following
calls from the Council of Regions (Travel Weekly September 4).
However, ABTA’s head of legal services Riccardo Nardi
admitted the guidelines would not be binding on operator members but claimed
they would help draw attention to agents’ concerns about direct numbers in
brochures.
Demands for ABTA to take a tougher line come as the Scottish
Passenger Agents’ Association announced plans to ‘name and shame’ operators who
print direct numbers on every page of their brochures.
SPAA tours convenor David Geddes said it was compiling a
list of operators who feature direct numbers, and they will be named and shamed
in the group’s next member newsletter, due in December.