organisations-operators

An investigation by the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) has found Teletext Holidays failed to refund many of its customers for package holidays cancelled due to the pandemic.
The CMA has now written to Teletext to set out its concerns that the company has not refunded many of its customers in accordance with its obligations under the Package Travel Regulations.
The body has also set out its expectations regarding how the company should now comply with its obligations.
Teletext now has the opportunity to address the detailed concerns and avoid any potential court action by signing formal commitments – known as ‘undertakings’ – to refund the affected consumers as soon as possible and take steps to ensure it complies with the Package Travel Regulations going forward.
Teletext Holidays is the trading name of Truly Travel Limited, which is a subsidiary of Truly Holdings Limited. ADVERTISEMENTThe investigation has included Alpha Holidays, trading as Alpharooms.com, which is also a subsidiary of Truly Holdings.
Commenting on the news, Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: “It is simply wrong that Teletext Holidays has left many of its customers to foot the bill for cancelled holidays when they were legally entitled to refunds.
“It is positive to see the regulator take these steps but very concerning that people are still owed money over a year after the travel disruption caused by coronavirus first began.
“Teletext must take swift action to refund all of those that are owed money and sign the undertakings to the CMA, confirming that it will not leave its customers in this dire position again.
“If these commitments aren’t met, the regulator should take enforcement steps quickly to ensure customers do not continue to wait for their money.”

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Tui Group has confirmed it will close a further 48 shops across the UK as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to hit the travel sector.
The move follows the closure of 166 Tui shops announced in July 2020 which affected up to 900 jobs.
The latest decision will impact on 273 staff, but the company said it would instead offer approximately 290 new opportunities, broadly split between full and part-time roles.
A statement from Tui said the travel industry and the British high street are both facing unprecedented pressure.
It added: “All colleagues at risk of redundancy will be offered roles in other stores where there are vacancies, or in the new homeworking retail and contact centre team. ADVERTISEMENT“We want to be in the best position to provide excellent customer service, whether it is in a high street store, over the telephone or online, and will continue to put the customer at the heart of what we do.
“It is therefore imperative that we make these difficult cost decisions and do our best to look after our colleagues during such unprecedented uncertainty.”
Tui said it believed Covid-19 had only strengthened a change in purchasing habits, with people looking to buy online or wishing to speak with travel experts from the comfort of their own home.
Information on which of the 362 existing Tui shops would close was not revealed.
Image: John Morrison/Alamy Stock Photo

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On the Beach is calling for cash refunds to be given to consumers holding refund credit notes (RCNs) for their Covid-19-cancelled holiday.
The tour operator argued an extension will only prolong the issues with RCNs.
It wants the CAA to take clear steps now to reassure customers that they can book holidays with confidence in the future and that lessons from 2020/21 have been learned.
It comes as the CAA announced it is in talks with the government to extend the deadline for issuing RCNs beyond March 31st and extending the expiry date for new RCNs beyond September 30th.
With a return to travel now looking likely to be delayed, it appears the government may grant approval for an extension of the system. ADVERTISEMENTSimon Cooper, chief executive of On the Beach said: “Extending the refund credit note deadline only kicks the can down the road.
“From travel companies increasing their prices to rebook the same holiday and leaving consumers with no option to shop around, to lack of clarity on the terms and conditions, and the likelihood of some people forgetting to redeem them altogether – these vouchers are not in the best interests of consumers.”
On the Beach has been vocal in reiterating consumer rights to receive cash refunds rather than credit notes during the pandemic.
The company keeps all customer hotel and transfer monies in a separate regulated trust account, which cannot be accessed until after the customer has travelled, meaning cash is refunded quickly when a holiday is cancelled.
Cooper added: “It’s not fair that consumers have their money locked up in these vouchers.
“Travel companies are using the money their customers have paid for future holidays as cash flow.
“Should any of these companies enter financial difficulty, it would take many months and administrative burden for consumers to get their money back from ATOL.”

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The Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) has released new figures illustrating the impact of Covid-19 on the hospitality sector in the region over the past year.
The impact was particularly acute from April to mid-June last year when there was literally “no activity” in some destinations, the trade body said.
Data received from member countries reveals that tourist arrivals to the region in 2020 fell to just over 11 million, a decline of 65 per cent when compared to the record 32 million tourist visits in 2019.
This was, however, better than the world average of a 74 per cent decline during the same period, as reported by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).
This lower rate of decline in the region can be attributed to two key factors: a significant portion of the Caribbean’s winter season (January to mid-March) saw average levels of tourist arrivals when compared to 2019, and the fact that the main (summer) season in other regions coincided with the period where there was very limited international travel.
The slowdown was characterised by empty hotels and restaurants, deserted attractions, shut borders, laid-off workers, grounded airlines and crippled cruise lines.

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While the CTO said there has been some fluctuations in the levels of visitors for the remaining months of the 2020, the influx of visitors has not reached levels even closely comparable to those being experienced prior to March last year.
A period of virtually no tourism began in mid-March – the second quarter was the worst-performing with arrivals down by 97 per cent.
But tourists began visiting again in June as the sector began to reopen. 
Still, the fall-off in stayover arrivals continued through to September – when a gradual reversal began – and continued right up to December.
Cruise lines plying Caribbean routes remain non-operational due to a strict ban imposed by the US Centres for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).
Like stayover arrivals, cruise was buoyed by the performance in the first three months of 2020, particularly the month of February, when there was a 4.2 per cent rise in visits.
However, a 20 per cent fall in the first quarter was followed by no activity for the remainder of the year as ships remained non-operational.
The overall result was a 72 per cent slide to 8.5 million cruise visits, when compared to the 30 million visits in 2019.
Image: Jamaica Tourist Board
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A rapidly evolving business travel landscape has been the catalyst for award-winning global travel management company FCM to transform its brand identity and take a fresh approach to developing a new tech platform.
With the global pandemic causing a seismic shift in the business travel industry, FCM has made it a priority to address customers’ pain points and their travel programmes by investing in new technology, rapid implementation, enhanced account management and sustainable and secure travel.
FCM’s new look is designed to showcase the brands’ distinctively flexible and unconventional approach to providing agile travel management services to its customers globally and locally.
The end-to-end rebrand has been launched in 97 countries across all websites, customer communications and social media platforms.
A core component of the announcement is that FCM is forging ahead with development of a ground-breaking proprietary technology that directly targets customers’ pain points with current and legacy corporate travel technology.

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The in-house platform is an omnichannel offering that is being developed following extensive research globally among customers to understand the different concerns of their bookers, travellers and managers.
Findings of this research revealed customers need an all-encompassing platform that is consistent across all markets, but also fully flexible with a positive user experience and simple user interface.

FCM global chief technology officer, Adrian Lopez, said the vision for the platform is based on addressing six key pillars: a globally consistent booking experience; always available travel assistance; traveller safety and wellbeing support; sustainability; AI powered reporting and savings, and flexible integration capabilities.
“The development of FCM Platform’s core experience is already well advanced, including a new proprietary online booking solution planned for key markets and integration of AI enhanced chatbot tool Sam as the digital ‘avatar’, providing live chat and real-time assistance across all of the platform’s channels,” said Lopez.
More Information
FCM is considered the World’s Leading Travel Management Company by voters at the World Travel Awards.
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In celebration of International Women’s Day, Insight Vacations is thrilled to launch a new 13-day itinerary, Venice & the Croatian Coast, A Women’s-Only Tour.
The trip is part of its Wander Women series of journeys created for women, by women.
The trip will take place in summer 2022 and will offer enriching travel experiences that cater to the diverse interests of female clients and introduce guests to inspiring women in communities across Croatia and also in to Slovenia.
The first women’s-only trip, Inspirational India was launched last year and is set to depart in October, which has booking availability.
The journey includes three #MakeTravelMatter Experiences designed to uplift local women in their communities and ensure Insight’s travels are used as a force for good while supporting the United Nations’ Global Goals.

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TreadRight ‘planet’ ambassador and environmentalist, Céline Cousteau will be a special guest on the Croatia trip.
She helps amplify women’s achievements as a documentary filmmaker and director.
With this year’s International Women’s Day theme being #ChooseToChallenge, Insight is celebrating women’s achievements by creating experiences that connect clients with women artisans, entrepreneurs, business and community leaders as well as by hiring women travel directors, local experts, coach drivers, experiences hosts and more.
“More than 50 per cent of the global workforce in our industry are women and female clients are yearning for uplifting and immersive experiences.
“On this International Women’s Day, we #ChooseToChallenge by seeking out and celebrating women’s successes with local female trailblazers, artisans and community leaders whom we visit and support across the globe,” said Ulla Hefel Böhler, global chief executive for Insight Vacations.
“Our newest Wander Women Croatia journey will highlight our meaningful #MakeTravelMatter Experiences where like-minded female guests can personally connect with outstanding local women and spend time with our inspiring TreadRight ‘Planet’ Ambassador, Céline Cousteau,” she concluded.
This special women’s-only guided tour is available with limited space as a single departure date, so clients are encouraged to book early to secure their spot.
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