When planning a holiday today, you may face some uncertainty with all that is going on in the world. However, you should not be afraid to make that well earnt holiday booking as long as you ensure the right precautions are met.
We cannot stress enough how important it is to book with a ABTA & ATOL protected travel agent like ourselves to guarantee your booking and all the finances involved are fully protected.
But what exactly does ABTA and ATOL mean for your booking, and why do you need to make sure your holidays are protected by them?
What does ABTA and ATOL stand for?
Before financially committing to a booking, travellers should always check to see if their holiday provider is ABTA or ATOL protected.
ABTA stands for Association of British Travel Agents.
All ABTA bonded companies are bound by a code of conduct, which ensures high standards are met and you get what you have paid for. ABTA financial protection only covers holidays that involve rail, cruise or self-drive but NOT package holidays where flights are included. For example, if you have booked a cruise holiday and have not received the standards you paid for, or if the cruise operator goes into administration, then ABTA will be on hand to support and cover you.
ATOL stands for Air Travel Organisers Licence.
ATOL-protected holidays are all package holidays that include flights.If an ATOL-certified travel company ceases trading, or if the package flights are cancelled, then customers are protected for both your holiday and your flight, and ATOL will arrange a refund. If you are already on holiday, then they will be flown home through ATOL with repatriation flights. It is worth noting that ATOL protectiondoes notapply if you book your flights directly with an airline, only as a package.
Why are they important?
Recent examples of events that have affected holiday bookings, such as the collapse of Monarch & Thomas Cook and the COVID-19 pandemic, unfortunately have seen thousands of people struggle to get refunds from operators or airlines directly, often involving many hours spent on the phone or going round in circles to even find a contact.
By booking your trip as a package with an ABTA and ATOL certified travel agent, you have a direct contact who does all the work for you. Our team are committed to getting the refund youre entitled to from the operator, or rearranging your disrupted holiday for another date, and most importantly all of your money is financially secure along the way.
In this unpredictable world, we have a dedicated and experienced team to help you achieve the holiday of your dreams with as little stress as possible.
So, in a nutshell….everything we sell here at Aspen Travel is fully protected by ABTA and ATOL, so you can trust you and your holiday are in safe hands.
Call us on 0161 755 3081 or email us your enquiry at travel@aspentravel.co.uk
