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accountant Chris Photi, head of travel and leisure at White Hart Associates, argued: “Abta needed to cut its overheads dramatically [and] it hasn’t reduced its head count. It’s difficult to justify administrative expenses of £8.4 million for a business of its size and revenue.” Abta reported trade


association expenses of £8.35 million for 2020-21, of which staff costs were £6.2 million. The association turnover was £4.4 million, down from £8.9 million in 2019. Alan Bowen, legal advisor


to the Association of Atol Companies, suggested: “Abta will be in no position to increase membership fees. They may well have to review some services.” He noted turnover-based


subscriptions meant “the likes of Jet2 and Tui keep Abta going”, but said: “Every trade association will be reviewing its cost of membership. Abta is not unique.” Abta’s 2020-21 accounts,


published just before Christmas, promised “a review of the subscription model and services” (Travel Weekly, January 6). The association gave a 50%


discount on subscriptions in 2020-21 and deferred payments for 2021-22 for members with full-year subscriptions of £3,000 or less. The payments now fall due in two parts, 50% this January and 50% in April. Abta confirmed the number


of member companies fell to 928 last year. However, Tanzer pointed out: “There are more managed branches – some substantial businesses have managed branches – plus a lot of homeworkers.”


Tui reaches settlement with 2015 beach terror claimants


Ian Taylor


Tui and lawyers representing families caught in the 2015 terror attack in Tunisia announced a settlement last week. Thirty Thomson customers were


among the 38 killed when an Islamic State gunman opened fire on a beach in Port El Kantaoui near Sousse and stormed the Riu Imperial Marhaba Hotel on June 26. Another 39 people were wounded. Law firm Irwin Mitchell brought


claims on behalf of more than 80 relatives of the dead and those injured in the attack, with the case due to reach the High Court next month. But a joint Tui-Irwin Mitchell statement confirmed they had reached a settlement “without admission of liability or fault” on January 6. The settlement was unspecified,


but Tui reported “provisions for litigation” totalling €27.8 million – though not just for this claim – in results to last September. A UK inquest in 2017 found the 30 had been “unlawfully killed” and


Coroner at 2017 inquest warned of ‘future risks’


The coroner at the 2017 inquest into the 30 Britons killed in the Sousse massacre concluded: “The simple but tragic truth is that a gunman went to that hotel intending to kill as many tourists as he could.” Twenty-nine people were killed by gunshot wounds and one by


54 13 JANUARY 2022


“blast-generated fragments” in the attack in the hotel grounds, in the hotel and on the beach. But in a report to the government,


the coroner warned of “a risk of future deaths unless action is taken” and identified two “matters of concern” based on evidence of industry practice prior to the attack. The first was that “neither Tui


nor other travel companies had security advisors on their boards”. The coroner wrote: “I am informed Tui now has such an advisor. I remain concerned that if other


companies do not…hotels they use will not be adequately protected.” Second, the coroner noted:


“Tui’s websites…did not prominently display logos and links to the government’s Travel Aware programme, which provides detailed travel advice for every country. I heard evidence that Tui have taken steps [to make this] more prominent. I remain concerned that other companies that sell holidays, or sell flights and hotel accommodation separately, may not have taken such steps.”


travelweekly.co.uk


the response of the Tunisian police was “at best shambolic”, finding local security units “should have intervened…[but] deliberately slowed down to delay their arrival”. However, the coroner said little


could have been done to prevent the massacre and ruled against a finding of ‘neglect’ by Tui and the hotel owners. It was claimed Tui had not made


customers aware of Foreign Office (FCDO) advice about Tunisia that had been updated after 22 tourists were killed at the Bardo Museum in Tunis in March 2015. A document circulated to Tui staff following the Bardo attack said the overall level of advice had not changed. The FCDO did not advise against travel to


Tunisia at the time but noted a “high threat from terrorism”. Tui and other operators


subsequently took steps to draw customers’ attention to FCDO advice and its Travel Aware campaign and Abta worked to ensure members directed customers to travel advice. Leading industry lawyers were


sceptical the claim would succeed in court. Travlaw partner Matt Gatenby said following the inquest: “It’s terribly sad, but I don’t see that a civil claim against Tui has good grounds to succeed.” Barrister Sarah Prager told an Abta Travel Law seminar: “As the law currently stands, there should be no prospect of the claim being successful.”


Plaque in Sousse


PICTURE: Shutterstock/Zhuravlev Andrey


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