Earlier this week we launched our annual fraud awareness and advice campaign in partnership with Action Fraud and Get Safe Online. 

The intention of the campaign is to help prevent customers from losing out and also to stress the value of booking with an ABTA Member. New findings reveal over 5,000 people lost a total of £7million to travel fraud in 2018 – up from the year before, with accommodation bookings and airline tickets among the most common scams.

The campaign achieved widespread coverage in the national press, including the Times, Sun, Daily Mail, Daily Mirror and Daily Telegraph, all widely referencing ABTA and our advice. The campaign featured as one of the lead stories on BBC online and was the second story on BBC breakfast, despite competing against the news of the Royal baby!

ABTA spokespeople were also interviewed on Sky News, ITV Meridian, BBC Radio 1 and numerous local radio stations. Our messaging also featured widely on the main national BBC radio stations, as well as regional stations. 

Travel related fraud is a sophisticated and growing problem, causing immense emotional distress as well as significant financial losses. However as the campaign states, there is an easy way to avoid this form of fraud – book with an ABTA Member. 

Mark Tanzer, Chief Executive