Tour operators reject Holiday Which? claims

Tour operators have rejected claims they are misleading holidaymakers through their holiday brochure descriptions.

Holiday Which? magazine said holiday companies were being "economical with the truth" in the way they described hotels and resorts.

But the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) said it was illegal for tour operators to do so and insisted it only received a small number of complaints about this issue.

Tour operator Thomas Cook said very few of the various claims raised by Holiday Which? applied to its holiday brochures.

The magazine claimed large tour operators including Thomas Cook, Thomson and Airtours were "misleading" holidaymakers through clever photography and inaccurate descriptions of their resorts.

A spokesman for ABTA responded: "It is illegal for tour operators to mislead in their brochures and we at ABTA only receive a very small number of complaints from the public over this issue.

"The cases highlighted by Holiday Which? in our view are either petty or in some instances utterly incorrect.

"For example to criticise a brochure because it doesn't mention building work is at best incomprehensible since building can occur at any stage and cannot be predicted by a tour operators months in advance."

If building work was taking place, clients needed to be told when making the booking but there was no need to mention it in the brochure, he added.

The spokesman conceded that the only acceptable criticism was that of the holiday company which used a picture of one resort in Spain to illustrate an entirely different resort.

A spokesman for Thomas Cook said of the Holiday Which? article: "Thomas Cook's first priority is customer service, and every effort is made to ensure that brochure information is as accurate as possible. Of the numerous issues raised by Holiday Which?, very few of them apply to Thomas Cook."

One criticism in which Thomas Cook was implicated was that tour operators were describing resorts including Malgrat and Santa Susanna in the "industrial" Costa Maresme as being in the more desirable Costa Brava.

The spokesman responded: "Thomas Cook describes Santa Susanna as being 'in nearby Costa Maresme'. Malgrat is clearly shown on the map to be in almost the same location as they are very close together. This is predominantly an agricultural, not an industrial, area. They are only about a ten minute drive from Blanes, which is very definitely in the Costa Brava."

Addressing another criticism the spokesman added: "In Bulgaria, Which? highlights the Iberostar Sunny Beach where the tennis courts had not been built. Thomas Cook's brochure clearly stated that the courts were 'planned' - and once it was confirmed that these would not be completed all customers due to stay at the hotel were contacted in advance, and all new customers were advised of the change via Thomas Cook's booking systems."

To read Holiday Which's? criticisms go to: Holiday brochures 'economical with the truth'