Secrets that make package holidays such a good bet

THOMSON, the UK’s biggest holiday firm, is no more. Well, sort of. Last week it changed its name to that of its German parent company, Tui.

Although the demise of the package holiday has long been predicted, it has simply not happened. Indeed, over the next 12 months Tui UK is licensed to provide package holidays to 5.4million people, while its biggest rival, Jet2holidays, is set to take nearly three million travellers – up by 660,000 on the previous 12 months. So why do package deals remain so enticing?

FINANCIAL PROTECTION

IF YOU book with a UK travel company, a package holiday that includes flights, accommodation and/or car hire will almost certainly be covered by the ATOL bonding scheme. It means that if the operator goes bust while you’re abroad, you’ll be repatriated at no extra cost. If you have yet to travel you’ll get your money back.

Don’t think this is just some unlikely, hypothetical scenario: Monarch collapsed earlier this month, affecting hundreds of thousands of holidays. Due to the scale of the problem – Monarch Airlines was the largest UK carrier ever to fail – the Government also decided to repatriate travellers who had flight-only bookings and therefore weren’t covered by ATOL. However, you can’t rely on that happening next time.

Moreover, those with future flight-only Monarch bookings will lose out, unless they can claim successfully through credit-card protection or travel insurance (many policies don’t cover airline failure).

There’s also the issue of ‘consequential losses’, such as separately booked, nonrefundable accommodation and car hire bookings – costs for which may not be recoverable.

BACK-UP

IF YOU’VE booked a bona-fide package, the holiday company has a legal duty of care to you. This means that in an emergency situation, it is obliged to keep you safe and resolve logistical difficulties, while also ensuring you don’t end up out of pocket.

During the recent hurricanes that tore through the Caribbean, operators relocated holidaymakers to safe places and put on evacuation flights. You simply aren’t entitled to this kind of support if you travel independently.

COST

DESPITE the extra perks of a package, it still often works out cheaper, as tour operators can negotiate better deals with hotels and airlines.

A clear-cut case are packages booked with British Airways Holidays: savings are guaranteed for ‘flight and hotel’ bookings over fixing the elements separately on ba.com, and you’re usefully told exactly what the saving is.

FLEXIBILITY

AT THE launch of Tui, bosses stressed how we are looking beyond the traditional package holiday for something more personal. Too true. Lots of tour operators already offer tailor-made packages of pretty much any length. Highly regarded companies include Kirker Holidays (short haul), Trailfinders (long haul) and Audley Travel (cultural).

EXPERTISE

MANY holiday companies that sell packages really know their stuff, and can save you hours of trawling online for best flight deals or best hotels. Smaller, independent tour operators are often particularly knowledgeable – find them on aito.com.