Travel Lawyers Urge Health & Safety Improvements On All-Inclusive Holidays
04/07/2011
A leading travel lawyer has called on UK tour operators to focus on guest safety, as holiday firms make efforts to encourage more and more holidaymakers to move to all-inclusive holidays.
Research from Mintel found that the all-inclusive holiday market, in which all food and drink is covered by the holiday price, grew by 32% in the five years up to 2010, whilst tour operator First Choice has confirmed that, from 2012, all of its packages will be sold on an all-inclusive basis.
Rising costs overseas, due largely to the weakness of the pound, is thought to be behind the increase in all-inclusive holidays, with popular destinations including Spain, Turkey, Egypt and the Dominican Republic.
But, with those countries already featuring in Irwin Mitchell’s five worst holiday destinations for holiday illnesses, lawyers at the firm are urging tour operators to ensure that health and safety standards are maintained at the highest possible levels throughout all of their resorts.
Lawyers from the firm currently represent more than 4,400 holidaymakers who have suffered serious gastric illness while on all-inclusive holidays, with more than half of the complaints that Irwin Mitchell received about all-inclusive resorts coming from tourists who fell ill on First Choice holidays.
Irwin Mitchell has been contacted by more than 1,200 holidaymakers who were taken ill at just one First Choice all-inclusive resort, the Holiday Village Turkey in Sarigerme.
Common complaints heard by lawyers at the firm include buffets where food was undercooked, served at more than one sitting or served at the wrong temperature.
Clive Garner, head of the travel law team and partner at Irwin Mitchell said: “We have seen first-hand that some of the hotels used by First Choice for all inclusive holidays have had a poor track record at when it comes to food hygiene standards.
“First Choice may feel they are offering major benefits to holidaymakers by letting them 'leave their wallets at home', but it is vital that they and the staff and management of the hotels that they use work hard to ensure the same people don't come home with a serious illness.
"What we have seen in the past is a focus on quantity rather than quality when it comes to food at some all inclusive resorts. But when things go wrong there can be dreadful and sometimes life changing consequences. Many of our clients go on to suffer long term and all too often permanent illness following food poisoning on all inclusive holidays abroad," Garner continued.
"This isn't just a problem that we see with First Choice, other tour operators also often say that they have strict hygiene policies in place to protect guests, but regrettably we regularly see outbreaks of illness at hotels around the World due to failures to follow hygiene guidelines that most of us would consider as basic common sense.
"It is the tour operator's responsibility to make sure hygiene standards are maintained. If hotels aren't up to scratch then they should take action or stop sending guests there."
Travel lawyers from Irwin Mitchell recently secured a landmark victory against TUI UK Ltd (the owner of First Choice and Thomson) that set a legal precedent, meaning holiday companies must warn actual and potential guests about possible health risks at their hotels.
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