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Trade Descriptions Act
Key points:
• Ensures descriptions are ‘truthful & correct’
• This act covers all promotional material
• Verbal descriptions are included under this act as well as written descriptions
• This act includes information which may mislead customers
Impacts:
• Hefty fines are given under this act for inaccurate or out of date promotional material
• Evidence of holidays being available when displayed must be provided
• Out of date/ unavailable holidays must be removed from display within time frame -
Supply of Goods and Services Act
Key points:
• This act applies to various industries
• Ensures bookings are carried out with reasonable care & skill
Impacts:
• Errors made will therefore be the agents liability
• Ensures customers understand the contract they are signing
• Ensures the product booked is fit for purpose -
Health and Safety at Work Act
Key points:
• This act covers both the employer & employee
• This act includes areas such as temperature, hazards, emergency plans, storage of brochures, signs
• Organisations must have an accident book in place
Impacts:
• Ensures a safe, secure & healthy workplace environment for both parties
• Protects people from accidents
• Keeps the workplace and equipment in good working order -
Growth of budget of budget airlines
SINCE taking off in the mid-1990s, Europe's budget airlines have soared to account for a third of all air travel in the region. But their growth is slowing. Having introduced holidaymakers to once obscure places like Tallinn and Sharm el-Sheikh, the low-cost carriers are left with few new places to explore. . National airlines such as British Airways and Lufthansa have tried to defend their business by offering stripped-down service and cheaper fares on more short-haul routes. “The low-cost carr -
Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tour Regulations
Key Points:
• Came into affect in order to regulate package holidays sold to customers
• Sets out the package providers responsibilities
• Came into affect because package holiday providers did not always give accurate holiday information
• Made package holidays liable for customers safety
Impacts:
• Package providers can be sued and fined under this act
• Ensures customers health and safety is of utmost importance
• Holidays cannot go up in price once booked -
Disability Discrimination Act
Key points:
• This act ensures all people are fairly treated and catered for
• This act covers a person with any physical or mental impairment and covers employment, education and access to goods, facilities, services and premises
Impacts:
• Agents must make reasonable adjustments to their premises
• Protects people who have a disability
• Ensures people who have a disability are catered for -
Data Protection Act
Key points;
• Protects customers personal data
• This act states 8 key principles of how personal data should be handled
• Introduced only 11 years ago
Impacts:
• Manual data must be stored securely and only for the length of time required
• Once data has been finished with it must be destroyed appropriately
• Prevents agents from passing customers data on automatically
• Data on computers must also be securely kept -
unfair terms in consumer contracts regulations
Key points:
• More applicable to tour operators than travel agents due to the tour operator writing the brochure
• Also covers misleading information such as airfares on websites
• Gives customers the right to challenge contract if they determine it unfair or unclear
• Backed by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) Impacts:
• Ensures the contract is written in clear terms
• Stops holiday providers misleading customers through the contract
• Ensures terms & conditions are fair