ATOL Campaign Urges Holidaymaker Caution

ATOL, the financial protection scheme run by the UK Civil Aviation Authority, is reminding those booking a holiday in the first month of this year, to check their trip is financially protected by ATOL before taking the plunge.

Over the last half-century, ATOL – now in its 50th year - has grown to financially protect more than 26 million passengers: more than 1,600 travel businesses are currently licensed under the scheme.

Its annual campaign campaign, which runs until the middle of next month, aims to support the travel industry, raise awareness of the ATOL brand and remind consumers of the importance of ensuring their package holiday bookings are financially protected by the scheme.

ATOL recently surveyed around 2,300 people and discovered nearly three in five (56 percent) of us are planning to go overseas on a summer holiday this year.

The research also found that among those planning to go on an overseas summer holiday in 2024, 17 per cent have already booked their summer holiday, 23 per cent plan to book it this winter and more than two-thirds (38 per cent) plan to book it in the spring. Only 17 per cent will leave it until the last minute and book between June and August.

It cautionary broadcast campaign, advocating a ‘stop and check’ theme, is timed to support one of the busiest holiday booking periods of the year.

It will feature two videos, each showing a couple and a young child jumping into the pool, who pause in mid-air before they make their big splash. The campaign message is designed to remind people to check their next holiday booking is protected by the ATOL scheme.

Andrew McConnell, Head of Media and External Affairs for the UK Civil Aviation Authority said: “2023 saw growth in bookings, driving holiday reservations back to pre-pandemic levels, and while unfortunately, we saw several smaller organisations go out of business, ATOL financial protection provided reassurance by assisting people to get home if they were already abroad or enabled them to make a claim for a refund if they were yet to travel.

“We know from our research that people are already planning their next overseas trip, so before consumers take the holiday plunge, they should use our ‘check for ATOL’ tool to see if their holiday provider holds an ATOL licence.

“By booking an ATOL-protected holiday, they know they can then relax, knowing they won’t be left out of pocket should anything happen to their travel firm.”