ABTA guidelines ‘fall short’

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.