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CHANGES in Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice could leave operators open to “making the wrong decisions”, according to the Association of Independent Tour Operators’ FCO liaison group. 

AITO, ABTA and the Federation of Tour Operators met the FCO last week before the end of a public consultation on proposed changes to travel advice. The FCO aims to give consumers more information to make their own decisions and reduce the number of travel bans unless there is “extreme and imminent danger” (Travel Weekly April 5).

But operators fear removing definitive guidance could put more liability on tour operators and raise insurance premiums.

AITO council member and Dragoman managing director Mike Sykes said he welcomed a move to improve clarity and consistency of advice, but warned that putting the onus on tour operators to decide whether a destination was safe could open up companies to disputes.

“It is a concern,” he said. “At the moment, the FCO decides for us. If we have to decide, there is a possibility we could make the wrong decisions.”

FTO director general Andy Cooper said operators would have to be more open about travel risks to avoid issues of liability, even spelling out dangers in brochures.

“Operators should promote upfront in their brochures or pre-departure information that wherever you go, you are at some risk,” he said. “The world is fundamentally unsafe and the industry should reflect the nature of the world we live in.”

ABTA said it thought the FCO proposals were “fairly positive”.

The review follows criticism that the FCO has been heavy-handed in non-essential travel bans following the 2002 Bali bombings. A ban on travel to Indonesia is still in place, but could be lifted by the summer.

n The Tourism Authority of Thailand said it was not concerned about reports of gun battles in the country’s southern provinces hitting visitor numbers. The FCO is warning against all non-essential travel to the four provinces affected - Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Songkhla. TAT marketing manager Richard Hume said the fighting was nowhere near tourist destinations.

The FCO is also warning against all non-essential travel to parts of Syria after a number of explosions in Damascus last week.