Consumer watchdog Holiday Which? has slammed major tour operators for failing to reveal the true price of a holiday in their brochures.
An investigation by Holiday Which? of the big four tour operators – Airtours, First Choice, Thomas Cook and Thomson – found they don’t display the true cost of a holiday.
Instead, according to the watchdog, a raft of added extras – such as extra leg room, fuel supplements, sitting together on a flight and under occupancy supplements – are concealed in small print at the back of the brochure.
ABTA has released a statement refuting Holiday Which?’s findings, claiming they represent “a misunderstanding of the workings of the travel industry”.
Meanwhile, the investigation also discovered booking online with a tour operator is cheaper than booking through one of its brochures.
The biggest price difference was £468 for a Thomas Cook holiday for two adults and a child to travel from Luton to Palma, staying at the Sol Magalluf Park Hotel in Majorca for two weeks on or around July 31. The operator’s JMC brochure priced the holiday at £2,165, while the online brochure price was £1,697.
Airtours was praised as the best value operator both through its brochures and online, as well as being commended as the only operator to include in-flight meals.
Holiday Which? editor Lorna Cowan urged holidaymakers to “check the brochure small print and compare prices by going online to the tour operators’ websites”.