ABTA has released a statement following the Government’s Call for Evidence to help drive the crackdown on the holiday sickness claims culture: 

“ABTA strongly welcomes the Call for Evidence announced today by the Government, in particular the commitment to urgently address the loophole in the law which is allowing companies to unduly profit from false holiday sickness claims.

The Stop Sickness Scams campaign, led by ABTA with the support of industry, has been calling for a Government clampdown on these fake claims to prevent higher prices and less choice for honest holidaymakers.

ABTA and its Members have already presented the Government with a body of evidence over the past months showing how these claims have risen by 500% since 2013 whilst reported sickness levels have remained stable.

These claims are also tarnishing British holidaymakers’ reputation abroad, particularly in Spain where they are costing hoteliers millions of pounds.

It is crucial that the Government brings in new rules which control legal costs on holiday sickness claims as soon as possible, and we welcome the chance to be able to submit further evidence from our Members to help crack down on these bogus claims.”

Total claims to the industry in 2016 (including damages paid) was estimated by ABTA to be over £240m.

This overall figure applies to the total cost of claims to the industry, not just false claims.