Holiday costs will rise and all-inclusive hoteliers could pull out of the UK market if the government and industry don’t get fake sickness claims “under control”, the head of Thomas Cook has warned.
Peter Fankhauser, Thomas Cook group chief executive, described the explosion in holiday sickness claims as “an embarrassment to our industry and to the UK”.
He said: “It is a joke that the Germans seem to have stronger stomachs. Europe is laughing at the Brits and it is starting to backfire on the British travel industry.”
Fankhauser told the Abta Travel Matters conference in London on Wednesday: “The government has been too slow to close a loophole in the regulations.
“At Thomas Cook, we are doing everything we can to discourage false claims. We are doing our part and the government must do theirs.”
Fankhauser said: “The announcement in the Queen’s Speech about tightening up on claims management companies is a welcome start. We want the next step to be on claims management companies’ costs.”
But he warned: “If we don’t get this under control, the all-inclusive sector is threatened. Even big hotel chains are threatening to stop selling to the Brits.”
Fankhauser said: “The cost of holidays will rise, because somebody has to pay for this.”
Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer welcomed Thomas Cook’s support for the association’s Stop Sickness Scams campaign.
Tanzer said: “I’m pleased to see a united voice from the industry behind calls to address the dramatic rise in false holiday sickness claims.
“I’d encourage everyone to support Abta’s campaign to ensure the Ministry of Justice urgently addresses the fixed claims loophole that is allowing unscrupulous claims management companies to thrive.”
