iness of ‘Travel in a dangerous world’ at London event. By Ian Taylor
Plan: ‘Update and test your crisis strategy’
Travel companies should update and test their crisis management plans continually.
Kelly Cookes, head of Freedom
Travel Group and The Co-operative Personal Travel Advisors, said: “It’s one thing having a crisis management plan and another to have tested it. We continuously test and update our plan.” She said: “It’s difficult to plan because every incident is different, but members and homeworkers have to hear from us if there has been an incident. “We have a crisis management
team in the office and take advice from [parent] Thomas Cook. We check whether we have customers involved. Then we ensure
“The challenge is the risk, the perceived risk and ensuring the right information goes out”
homeworkers have the right information to give to customers.” Cookes added: “The challenge
is the level of risk, the perceived risk and making sure the right information goes out. Within 15 minutes of the Hurghada [hotel stabbing] incident [on January 9], I read four different versions of what happened on social media, none of them correct.” The recent attacks have had
COOKES: ‘Members have to hear from us if there’s been an incident’
an impact on bookings. “There is a shift to the western Med for winter,” said Cookes. “A lot of operators have put
in extra capacity. But we’re also seeing business move to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the Caribbean. The consumer is looking for a certain type of holiday and, if it is not available in one place as a result of an incident, they look elsewhere. Consumers are still booking.”
PTD: Abta unfazed by new cancellation rule
Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer rejected a warning that new package travel regulations could make firms refund holidaymakers who cancel bookings out of fear of terrorism “in the vicinity” of a destination. Travlaw partner Matt Gatenby
warned that a provision of the new Package Travel Directive, due to come into force in 2018, will widen the grounds for cancellation (Travel Weekly, January 7). Gatenby suggested a consumer might cancel a trip to the Loire because of an attack in Paris and told industry representatives: “The wording has changed in the new regulations to: ‘The traveller shall have the right to terminate the contract . . . in the event of unavoidable and
extraordinary circumstance at the place of destination or its immediate vicinity.’ How far does ‘in the vicinity’ extend?” Tanzer disagreed, saying: “The situation will be what it always was. Can the holiday be delivered? That is the important thing. Can you still get to the place? ‘In the vicinity’ does not mean that someone can take their own personal view.” He said: “We have to hold the line on this. If everyone can make a different assessment, it will be chaotic. We can say: ‘It’s
still safe [to visit], we are still running the programme’.”
GATENBY: ‘How far does “in the vicinity” [the phrase in the new PTD] extend?’
Tunisia: Thomson faces legal action over ‘lack of adequate warnings’
A leading UK law firm began legal action against Thomson in September over last year’s beach massacre in Tunisia. The tragedy in Sousse in
June left 30 British tourists dead. Law firm Irwin Mitchell notified Thomson that it is bringing claims for damages over alleged failures to provide adequate security precautions. It claimed victims and their
families were “critical of the lack of warnings in the light of the known level of risk in the region at the time” and said: “The tour operator is legally responsible for any failure. . . to provide adequate warnings to guests before and during their stays.” Thomson has so far declined
to comment. Travlaw partner Matt
Gatenby told the Big Tent Event: “Historically, we’ve said [such an incident] is so unforeseeable that a tour operator could not be held responsible. It seems unlikely it [the claim] could be successful, but it is possible.”
Muslim travel: Industry urged to explain how US entry system works
The panel was asked about the implications of a Muslim family on a trip to Disneyland being prevented from boarding a flight from Gatwick to Los Angeles before Christmas. The family was given no
explanation other than that US authorities refused them entry. Freedom Travel Group head
Kelly Cookes expressed dismay, saying: “Britain is multicultural; our customers are multicultural.” But journalist Simon Calder
said: “The industry has to explain how the US system works: the need for an Esta; your details are shared with 26 agencies; and that there are no guarantees.”
21 January 2016
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