Gimme a break

WITH war in Iraq drawing to a close, Travel Weekly and ABTA’s Gimme a break campaign is moving into overdrive. This is the time to grab your share of the pent-up demand by acting as the voice of travel in your area. And now there are even more reasons for you to make the headlines. Gimme a break has teamed up with Cosmos Tourama to give away an Italy break to the agent who does the most to talk up the industry each week.

The winning agent and their partner will win one of Cosmos Tourama’s eight-day Leisurely Tours of Italy based on the Venice or Naples charter programmes, available from eight regional UK airports.

All you have to do is send us your name and shop details and we’ll find a local newspaper, radio or TV station who wants to talk to you. To help you, the key facts to mention can be found at www.travelweekly.co.uk and abtamembers.org.

To sign up, e-mail your name and agency details to twfeedback@rbi.co.uk

Let’s get people travelling.

 

Published here is a key list of points Travel Weekly and ABTA have put together to help you when you speak. Let’s get people travelling.

 

Q.1 How do I know whether it is safe to go on holiday?

 

Most holiday destinations have been and will remain unaffected by the Gulf War. But if you book with an ABTA-bonded tour operator, you can be assured of the best possible service during these difficult times.

ABTA and its members follow advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) very carefully. If, before you travel, the FCO issues advisories against all, or non-essential, travel to your holiday destination during the period of your holiday, then you will be entitled to a full refund of the monies you paid to your tour operator.

 

Q.2 What if I’m already there?

 

If you are overseas and the FCO advice changes to advise against travel to your destination, your tour operator will either arrange for you to return to the UK as soon as possible, or make alternative holiday arrangements where this is practical.

If no alternative is available and you are brought home early, no compensation will be payable but you will receive a refund of any unused services eg accommodation costs where your tour operator is able to recover these from its suppliers.

 

Q.3 What if I change my mind?

 

Some companies are reducing the level of deposits they require, while others are offering ‘flexible booking’, which means that you change your mind you may be able to change the destination for no extra charge.

 

Q.4 When should you book?

 

There are some very good deals around if you book now for April, May and June with prices down quite significantly. But if the war continues for much longer, these deals will disappear as the tour operators take holidays out of the market. Similarly, if the war ends, prices will rise. Resorts in Spain and Greece will sell out quickly for peak seasons and prices will hold.

 

Q.5 Are holidays the cheapest they have ever been?

 

The average price paid for summer 2003 holidays booked in January and February this year was £552 – a 3.4 per cent fall on summer 2002.

 

Q.6 What effect will the war have on the industry?

 

The war in Iraq will certainly have an adverse effect on tourism in the short-term, but once the conflict is over, those people who put off their decision on a holiday, will make up their minds quickly and ‘pent-up’ demand will rush back. This means there will be a shortage of holidays left for the peak season. Research by Thomson Holidays shows the Brits now see an overseas holiday as part of their life and not a luxury.

 

Q.7 Will more people stay at home?

 

VisitBritain will launch a domestic campaign just after Easter to encourage British people to take a fresh look at what lies on their own doorstep. ABTA is also encouraging the public to book a domestic break with their travel agent.

 

Q.8 Should I put together my own holiday to get the best deal?

 

Firms selling package holidays have to comply with European law and offer their customers greater rights than those putting holiday elements together themselves.

 

Q.9 What is a package?

 

If you pay one firm, in a single transaction, for a range of holiday items – like flights, accommodation, or car hire, it’s a package. It will normally be sold at a single inclusive price. Some tour operators offer brochures or websites from which you can create a ‘tailormade’ holiday by choosing your flights and hotel from limited lists and this will also be a package.

 

If you ask a travel agent to meet your own specific requirements then it won’t be a package. Similarly many websites – usually the airlines’ – will offer you the ability to put together a package by choosing a flight from them and other items like hotels and car hire from separate companies and this won’t be a package either.

 

Q.10 Where and when is it best to buy travel insurance?

 

The best time and place to buy travel insurance is when you buy your holiday through your travel agent or tour operator so that you have immediate cover. Travel agents can offer competitively priced insurance, with good cover as well as offering peace of mind. The person who sold you your holiday will know exactly where you are going and what activities you have planned and will make sure you get the most appropriate insurance for your trip. Travel agents will also help you process a claim if you have to make one.

 

Q.11 What is the difference between ABTA and ATOL?

 

ABTA – the Association of British Travel Agents – and ATOL which stands for Air Travel Organisers’ License both provide financial protection for holidays.

Package holidays that include a flight have to be protected by ATOL. The scheme is managed by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and is the only protection scheme for flights and air holidays sold by tour operators in the UK.

The scheme protects customers from losing money or being stranded abroad due to the failure of air travel firms. It gives comprehensive consumer protection to 28 million people in the UK who buy flights or air holidays each year.

 

ABTA is a trade association which represents travel agents and tour operators, who sell 90% of package holidays from the UK. Members join voluntarily, but ABTA has strict criteria that businesses have to meet before they can join. ABTA members’ financial protection covers all non-flight based holidays and will enable customers to continue their holiday and return home safely if their travel agent or tour operator goes out of business while they are away. If you haven’t started your holiday, ABTA will refund you or give you help to make alternative arrangements.