Latest figures from the Association of British Travel Agents (Abta) show that 17,196 people lodged official complaints last year, as against 14,600 in 2004.

Poor hotel and apartment complaints accounted for a fifth of problems, followed by unsuitable resorts, cancellations, building works, poor service from travel reps, inaccurate brochure descriptions, flight delays and “dodgy” food.

Common accommodation complaints included dirty, damp rooms, filthy bathrooms and lack of space. Unexpected building work was also high up the gripe-list. Frances Tuke, spokeswoman for Abta, says that the increase might be partly due to natural disasters — the tsunami, and an extended hurricane season.

She added that there has been a slight increase in complaints about airline service and flight delays — attributable to airlines increasingly stripping out “frills” such as allocated seats and on-board meals. She also said that, as more people book online without talking to an expert travel agent, there may be gaps in knowledge leading to unrealistic expectations.

The news came in the same week that Abta’s Code of Conduct was given a seal of approval by the Office of Fair Trading. “People can now be assured that they can get gold-standard service,” said Tuke. To get the OFT endorsement, the code of conduct was strengthened, and Abta now does more monitoring of its members’ brochures and websites.

Of the 17,196 complaints last year, 947 went to Abta’s arbitration panel, which is run by an independent body, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. Complaints should be dealt with within three months, and going through the arbitration scheme costs from £72.85 to £164.50 depending on the size of a claim. The maximum payout would be £5,000 per person or £25,000 per booking, although a spokesman said: “The holiday would have had to be horrendous for that.”



Details: Abta (020-7637 2444, www.abta.com).

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