Abta will increase its limit on pay-outs on member claims for pipeline cash when an agency fails from next month.
The association will raise the claims cap from just over £110,000 to £140,000. The cap has previously risen annually by around the rate of inflation.
Abta head of financial protection John de Vial said: “We’ve made a substantial increase to the claims cap limit this year. Traditionally, this has risen with inflation. It rose 3% last year to £110,300. Abta will increase the limit by more than 20% from July.”
De Vial said this was possible “because of the strength of Abta and the financial protection scheme”.
He told Travel Weekly: “Mutuality of protection is one of the benefits of Abta membership. It gives principals confidence to trade with a range of retailers. But members don’t have to get involved in credit checks.
“The freedom to trade this creates between members is not often talked about. It allows people to trade with confidence. That is a huge benefit. As a tour operator, you can deal with any Abta member without checking up on them.”
The cap is the limit on what companies may claim back in a single year. De Vial said: “We’ve only ever had anyone break the cap on a couple of occasions and the system has been in place for years.”
Abta’s subscriptions for the coming year have risen 3%, the same as last year.