The Importance Of ( Being ) ABTA

Never has the importance of booking your holiday with an ABTA bonded Travel Agent been more apparent during the weeks since Christmas with the downfall of Swan Hellenic and Voyages of Discovery.

ABTA – Association of British Travel Agents – bonding is the protection that all reputable Travel Agents give to clients when booking their holiday or cruise. Their members are bonded, so that any money you pay to them is protected if they go out of business.

Luckily  all the passengers booked on future cruises with Swans and Voyages were protected by ABTA or ATOL, the Air Tour Operators Licence which covers any holiday packages that include flights. All 13000 passengers with future bookings with the two companies will start to receive their money in the next couple of weeks.

I was especially sorry to hear about Swan Hellenic`s collapse as they have been a really great specialist cruise company for many years. A niche operator that originally belonged to P&O before being sold off many years ago. After working for Thomson in Egypt I spent two years working for an Egyptian Tour Operator who was the ground handler for Swan Hellenic in Egypt. I handle the Swan`s account and always remember how everything was planned right down to the tiniest detail. The clients were always given the best tour guides, the best coach drivers and all the coaches had to be exactly the same in size colour and everything else you could think of. Nothing was left to chance for the clients who loved the lectures and excursions more than anything. There were lots of famous faces among the travellers, one who I remember seeing getting on and off the tours was the astronomer Patrick Moore.

There is huge disappointment among clients who were due to travel in the coming months but, thankfully, we have already been able to help a few find new ships to cruise on.

So when booking you next holiday don`t forget to look for the ATA logo – you might find it cheaper elsewhere but if you haven`t got the bonding it may not turn out to be the bargain you thought it would!