The reputation of the UK package holiday market has been damaged this weekend by the high profile collapse of Goldtrail Holidays on Friday.
Its sudden failure, at the start of the peak holiday season, generated many column inches in the press, both nationally and overseas, and has been the top story on many television news broadcasts.
Industry observers were surprised at the amount of news coverage of the collapse, considering Goldtrail was not a particularly huge player.
“I guess there wasn’t much other news around this weekend, so it became a big story,†said one.
Despite assurances from the Civil Aviation Authority that it would look after Goldtrail passengers, the British tabloids and broadsheets have been full of stories about people being hounded for cash from irate hoteliers.
The Daily Express reported how “Furious British tourists stranded in Turkey after the collapse of Goldtrail Travel vowed last night they would not pay another penny after hotels threatened to throw them out unless they stumped up extra cashâ€.
It was reported in several newspapers that Goldtrail agents had told hotels they would not get compensation and to recoup their losses directly from guests.
The Telegraph carried a story about links between Goldtrail and the XL Group, which failed in 2008.
It said former executives of XL Group were involved in supplying packages and flights for Goldtrail’s holiday operations in Greece.
“Although there is no suggestion of any link between the two events, the collapse is likely to raise questions about the state of the UK’s package holidays market,” it said.
Many papers pointed out that the CAA had predicted there would be some travel company failures this year, but had expected them to be in the autumn.
Consumer watchdog magazine, Which? Holiday, issued a press statement saying: “This is more bad news for British tourists, just when we thought the travel industry was back on its feet following the volcanic ash disruption.â€
** What do you think of the coverage in the consumer press of the Goldtrail collapse? Do you think the industry can recover its reputation? Are your customers concerned about being protected if a company goes bust?
Tell us by clicking on ADD A COMMENT below.
By Bev Fearis
