AGENTS have told operators to get their act together after a
controversial new television series slated standards in many holiday resorts.
The first in a series of programmes, called Package
Holiday 2001, was shown on July 31. It documented ant-infested hotels,
building work next to hotels and brochure inaccuracies.
Wolverhampton-based Bowen Travel manager Maggie Brownhill
said: “As long as the programme is aimed at operators that’s fine, so often it’s
the agent that’s blamed because clients don’t understand who their holiday is
booked through.”
Linda Young, from Four Oaks Travel in Four Oaks, West
Midlands, also said agents often bear the brunt of customers’ anger when their
holidays go wrong.
Patrick Murphy, managing director of Thornton’s Travel,
Bristol, said operators need to be more open and honest with customers about
problems such as airport delays.
However, operators criticised the TV series, saying it was
misrepresentative and sensationalist.
JMC head of communication Patrick Barrow said: “This type of
cheap reality television is really scraping the barrel and will damage the industry.”
Airtours also attacked the programme’s covert filming
methods. A spokeswoman said: “We were concerned we were not given the right to
reply.
“In one incident, the programme said the Avlida Hotel in
Paphos was used by Airtours but we last featured it in 2000.”