Aito has highlighted a glaring hole in enforcement of the Package Travel Regulations (PTRs) this week.
Derek Moore, Aito chairman, notes in a comment for Travel Weekly that a consumer buying a holiday from a non-EU tour operator at the British Birdwatching Fair in the Midlands is entitled to full consumer protection under the PTRs but may not enjoy it.
Aito’s frustration with trading standards, which is responsible for enforcing consumer law in this area, is understandable. But it highlights a wider problem with local enforcement of consumer rights, fair-trading rules and the PTRs given the scale of trading standards’ responsibilities and its lack of resources amid the continuing squeeze on the spending of local authorities which fund it.
A revamp in this area is required in the interests both of consumers and businesses.
Turkey’s silver lining
It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good, goes the saying. And yet the currency crisis in Turkey may provide just the stimulus the lates market needs after bookings stalled through the recent heatwave.
Holidaymakers to Turkey saw their spending money surge by 24% between Monday last week and Tuesday this, with the Turkish lira having almost halved in value since January.
Yet the wider fallout may prove more serious amid warnings the crisis could spread. South Africa’s currency fell 10% in value on Monday.
It may also threaten the market to Turkey itself if inflation triggers renewed instability, just two years after the failed coup, which so hammered tourism to the country in 2016-17.
Comment from Travel Weekly, August 16 edition