Abta issues new guidance on pricing Ian Taylor


Abta urged members to consult its updated advice on Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) requirements that all unavoidable fees and taxes payable in destination be included in total prices this week, as the deadline for compliance approaches. The CMA first issued guidance


on the new rules for travel sellers on November 18 but almost immediately sent out letters warning businesses had three months to comply or risk enforcement action. Abta noted it has issued “numerous


notifications and advice” to members since warning of “potentially extremely serious consequences” if companies


“have not taken appropriate steps”. It warned: “The CMA has made


clear it will take enforcement action against any company that does not include unavoidable fees and charges payable on arrival or departure at hotels, ports or airports.” Abta senior solicitor Paula


Macfarlane told Travel Weekly: “Many of our members are taking steps to comply with the CMA guidance. It’s extremely important everyone takes the time to review their pricing to ensure they aren’t potentially in breach.” She said Abta’s latest guidance


“summarises the issue and pulls together our guidance to date”, noting: “We continue to receive queries as members work on changing price displays and we’ve


UK health agency’s Cape Verde advice dubbed ‘radical step’


Ian Taylor


The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) warned travellers to Cape Verde “to protect against gastrointestinal infections” last week in a move one senior industry figure described as “radical”. The agency described the


warning as a “reminder” ahead of the February half-term holidays after warning in December of an increase in shigella cases “associated with travel to Cape Verde”. Shigella can cause severe diarrhoea and fever. The UKHSA last week reported


158 “confirmed shigella cases” since October 1, 118 involving


4 12 FEBRUARY 2026


“reported international travel” and 112 travel to Cape Verde. This was up from 137 confirmed cases in December, with travel to Cape Verde in 109 of these – meaning only a small increase since December. The agency also reported


an increase in salmonella cases “associated with travel to Cape Verde”, with 43 cases reported since October 1. It does not appear to have


issued such a warning before, having only been set up in 2021. The Foreign Office, which would


normally issue any health-related warning to travellers, currently advises: “The UKHSA is investigating


The CMA has made clear it will take action against any company that does not include unavoidable charges


asked for clarification [from the CMA] on a couple of areas.” Abta has sought clarification


on issues including how a price breakdown may be displayed and what a ‘reasonably indicative’ exchange rate means. Travel sellers are advised to show


customers a ‘total price’ with the amount to ‘pay now’ and amount to ‘pay at the property’, together with an


explanatory note that the total price “includes approximately £xx (€xx) tax to be paid at the property” with the exchange rate this is based on – noting that both local taxes and the exchange rate could change before payment becomes due. Alan Bowen, legal advisor to the


Association of Atol Companies, described implementing the changes as “a challenge”, saying: “If selling online, you need to change virtually every page of your booking system and change your booking conditions. It means hours of work for small operators when this is the busiest time of year.” He suggested: “It’s not going to be


all finished in three months.” Abta said businesses “should comply as soon as they can”.


Cape Verde


an increase in reports of shigella and salmonella infection in travellers returning from Cape Verde.” Former Federation of Tour


Operators director general Andy Cooper, who is now an industry consultant, said the warning was reminiscent of Foreign Office advice on the prevalence of gastro illness in the Dominican Republic in the 1990s. He noted the UKHSA had


combined “two unrelated issues” since “shigella is generally waterborne and salmonella generally food-driven”, adding: “It seems a radical step.” The number of UK travellers to Cape Verde has doubled in a decade


to 250,000 and Cooper said: “You wonder whether the infrastructure is struggling to keep up.” Tui is by far the biggest operator


to Cape Verde. Asked about the warning this week, Tui chief executive Sebastian Ebel said: “I can only say the average illness rate is below the standard at home, and I looked at the numbers yesterday.” Tui UK faces several group


action sickness claims brought by major law firm Irwin Mitchell on behalf of holidaymakers who stayed at resorts in Cape Verde in 2022 when hotels were reopening after being mothballed during the Covid pandemic.


travelweekly.co.uk


PICTURE: Shutterstock/Samuel Borges


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