5 2


Balearics to host summit on booze


Juliet Dennis juliet.dennis@travelweekly.co.uk


UK travel bosses are to attend a summit to discuss a proposed booze clampdown at all-inclusive hotels, aimed at reducing “uncivil tourism” in the Balearic Islands.


Representatives from Abta, UK


operators and travel businesses in the Balearics will attend the February summit in Palma, Majorca, alongside tourism minister Bel Busquets and Spain’s secretary of state for tourism, Bel Oliver. Talks regarding the controversial


plans, which would see unlimited all-day alcohol banned outside of meal times at all-inclusive properties in Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza, are already under way. Abta and Thomas Cook are questioning the rationale behind the move, which has been proposed by the mayor of Calvia, in Majorca, Alfonso Rodriguez Badal. If approved, new laws could be in place by 2020 or 2021. An Abta spokesman said: “We’ve


asked the Balearic authorities for any evidence that all-inclusive oiday are a inificant cae of the problems that are intended to


Magaluf: Meliá Hotels is seeking a change to the resort’s image


be addressed, such as behaviours leading to balcony falls, as this is not the experience we have of all-inclusive holidays.” Stephen D’Alfonso, Thomas Cook


group head of public affairs and sustainability, said the operator was sharing data with local authorities, adding: “We support efforts to ensure our customers enjoy a safe holiday. However, we do not believe all-inclusive resorts are the cause of the disruptive behaviour.” Mark Hoddinott, chief real


etate officer at ei ote International, which has invested in a fieyear an to enance Magaluf’s image, said the move would reduce excessive drinking but insisted that resorts must also invest in “more high-quality bars, restaurants and shops, to attract a more discerning traveller, and disincentivise the excessive consumption of alcohol”. Hugh Morgan, non-executive chairman of the Broadway Travel Group until last October and a Majorcan resident, said: “The British public will vote with their feet and go elsewhere. “Local politicians need to be careful what they wish for.”


Agency in clone website warning


Samantha Mayling


samantha.mayling@ travelweekly.co.uk


A Scottish agency which had its online identity hijacked has warned of fraudsters targeting the sector as more than 70 bogus websites imitated travel companies in the past year.


The Travel Bar, in Blairgowrie,


started to receive calls from consumers who believed they had booked with the business but had in fact paid money to a fake agency calling itself ‘The Travels Bar’. The scammers conned


holidaymakers out of thousands of pounds, using the Perthshire agency’s bricks-and-mortar address and Atol number. Owner and director Brenda


McCready said: “It’s soul-destroying when you get a call from someone who thinks they have booked with you but haven’t. “We’ve taken our website down, as our identity has been stolen.” A spokesperson for Perth and


Kinross Council said: “The fake business is conning people out of thousands of pounds.” Barry Gooch, chairman of


“Our identity has been stolen, so we’ve taken our website down”


Prevention of Fraud in Travel rofit aid ere i a rowin problem with fraudsters copying legitimate companies’ websites. “In the past year, more than 70


travel-related bogus websites have been taken down.” rofit recent ecre r


Systems campaign, supported by Travel Weekly, highlighted steps


fir can tae to reent oo and images from being copied. Ken McLeod, president of the Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association, knows of other agents with similar problems, including one £10,000 fraudulent transaction. “It seems to be more prevalent,” he said. John de Vial, Abta’s director


of financia rotection warned that fraudsters use ‘site scrapers’ to copy websites. “This is a relatively rare, but growing, problem,” he said, adding that fake sites should be reported to Action Fraud.


3 January 2019travelweekly.co.uk5 3 STORIES HOT The Travel Bar’s Brenda McCready


PICTURE: SHUTTERSTOCK


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84