Why buy ABTA

Peak Retreats is a full tour operator member of ABTA

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Why buy package travel through an ABTA travel agent or tour operator?

ABTA, The Travel Association, is the organisation which represents UK travel agents and tour operators responsible for the sale of around over 90% of package holidays and approximately 45% of independent travel arrangements. It’s ABTA’s role to ensure that you, the customer, benefit from consistently high standards of trading practice in the travel industry; that the standards of service and business throughout the membership are of the highest calibre. As such, ABTA’s famous symbol has come to represent choice and value.

Book with confidence

ABTA Members operate under a strict Code of Conduct, to promote your best interests. So, when you see the ABTA symbol in an ABTA Member’s brochure or on their website, you can be confident that the descriptions of your travel arrangements have been compiled under comprehensive guidelines set by ABTA to ensure clarity and accuracy.

ABTA applies just the same amount of care when checking its Members’ finances, too, reducing the risk of anything going wrong.

Better service at no extra cost

The Code of Conduct means that every one of its travel agents and tour operators has to work to the highest standards of service and quality. When you deal with an ABTA travel agent, they are required to give you comprehensive advice on things like visas, passports, health requirements, and any alterations to your travel arrangements.

ABTA also requires that each Member’s office contains properly qualified staff. It’s very reassuring to be able to book with this kind of peace of mind.

Price

ABTA tour operators who sell package holidays minimise the impact of fluctuating currency rates as they buy currency and fuel a year in advance at fixed rates and secure deals with their suppliers and hotels.

Many tour operators like Peak Retreats have a ‘no surcharge guarantee’ in place for clients booking packages. Those companies that do allow for surcharges have to make sure they meet certain criteria and request permission from ABTA before implementation. By law, an amount equivalent to two per cent of the consumer’s original holiday package price has to be absorbed by the tour operator before the remainder is passed on and, if a holiday incurs a 10 per cent surcharge, customers have the right to cancel and get a refund.

Complaints resolved

Complaints about holidays are best dealt with on the spot by the tour operator’s representative or supplier. But, if you’re still not happy, raise the problem with your travel agent or tour operator when you get home. ABTA's Code ensures that ABTA Members respond to any complaint within strict time limits.

If you can’t resolve a dispute, ABTA offers a low-cost independent arbitration service.

(Consumers travelling independently are exposed to overbooking of hotels and may have no recourse other than through the local courts in their destination. Equally Consumers who “self-package” and have a complaint often face lengthy battles through regional courts in their holiday destinations)

Financial security

Many of the travel arrangements provided by ABTA Members are protected in case of the financial failure of the travel company. Ask your ABTA Member if protection applies to your travel arrangements.

Peak Retreats provides total financial protection for clients booking holiday packages with us. This is provided by way of a bond held by ABTA. Peak Retreats is bonded with ABTA for holiday packages.

Peak Retreats is bonded with ABTA but is not required to hold an ATOL licence run by the CAA as these are only for operators who offer flight inclusive packages, which we don't offer.

(If you pay the airline, hotel or other supplier direct, there is no legal requirement for them to provide any security against insolvency and you could lose your money. If you have bought the flights direct from the airline, the airline has no legal responsibility to repatriate you)

Quality that shows

It’s not just ABTA's service standards and strict Code of Conduct that make ABTA travel agents and tour operators stand out from the crowd. The fact is, the Association is highly visible too, because all ABTA Members display the ABTA sign in their windows, on their letterheads, on their brochures and websites, and on their advertising too. So it’s easy to pick out the right people to deal with when you want to arrange your holiday.