SPAA TODAY

From the President

CHRISTMAS PARTIES AND GASTRIC ILLNESS

Fortunately these two subjects are not connected - well not unless you happen to have a dodgy curry after your Christmas Party.....

Joking aside though, I took a call from one of our members this week who was very concerned about the increasing numbers of people coming forward,  looking to lodge claims against operators and agents alike for alleged gastric illness incidents - some even stretching back a few years. In many cases, it seems that there is no supporting evidence of the alleged illness, no in resort complaint lodged, no doctor's receipt or diagnosis. Unfortunately, it all points towards the 'claim culture' that is sweeping across Britain - certain firms seem to be encouraging 'no win - no fee' type of claims against UK Tour Operators. In true 'ambulance chasing' form, some of these firms have even been actively recruiting clients/claimants in the holiday resorts themselves.

Now that's OK if people have genuine claims - but with some operators experiencing increases in the region of 500% for gastric illness claims, you have to think that something is badly awry here. Bogus claims are not a victimless crime - it might be the insurance companies who pay out, but often Tour Operator Liability policies contain big excesses, which mean that the Operator (or Agent) involved will incur heavy costs. (The Agent will only be involved if they have packaged a holiday under their own ATOL.)

It's something that SPAA and ABTA are aware of and are now looking at ways of helping members involved in this debacle and also looking at potential ways of curbing this kind of behaviour in the future. We need feedback, so please let us know if this issue is currently affecting you.

On a lighter note, I'm looking forward to the SPAA Christmas Lunch at Club 29  in Glasgow on Thursday this week. It will be good to see old friends and new, it's been another very eventful year and I can't quite believe that we are racing headlong towards Christmas at breakneck speed. Hope to see you all there!    

Alan Glen SPAA President
06 December 2016



CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR BREAK 2016/17

Our final editions of SPAA Today and SPAA Todayextra in 2016 will be with you ...

Tuesday 20 December 2016 (copy deadline 12.00 noon, Monday 19 December)

... and we will be back on your desktop ...

Tuesday 10 January 2017 (copy deadline 12.00 noon, Monday 09 January)



EVENTS CALENDAR - 2016/17     
     

     Thursday 08 December : AGM & Christmas Lunch - 29 Club Glasgow
     
     Thursday 02 March : 87th Annual SPAA Dinner - Crowne Plaza Glasgow     
     Thursday 16 March : STAR Exhibition Edinburgh                                     
     Thursday 30 March : Spring Seminar & Networking Lunch  - Glasgow   
     
     Tuesday 09 May : Travel Quiz Heat Glasgow                                       
     Tuesday 16 May : Travel Quiz Heat Edinburgh                                   
     Tuesday 23 May : Travel Quiz Heat Aberdeen  - Douglas Hotel                                
     
     Thursday 01 June : Travel Quiz Final Glasgow  - Travel 2                  
     Thursday 29 June : Summer in the City - Balmoral Hotel Edinburgh                                  
     
     Thursday 24 August : Golf Day                    
     
     Thursday 07 September : Autumn Seminar & Networking Lunch - Waldorf Astoria Edi
     Thursday 14 September : STAR Exhibition Aberdeen  - Douglas Hotel                               
     
     Thursday 02 November : Annual Travel Awards  - DoubleTree by Hilton Glasgow               
     Tuesday 21 November : STAR Exhibition Glasgow  - DoubleTree by Hilton Glasgow                               
     Thursday 07 December : AGM & Christmas Lunch - 29 Club Glasgow


NB for details visit  www.spaa.org or contact Janice Hogarth at [email protected]
all event details are subject to change




If Only...'s Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands team programme takes off
 
Launched in September, If Only...'s new programme of holidays, tours, cruises and railway journeys 'down under' is off to a great start. The Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands team of 6 who have been assembled from new recruits and from existing staff have all settled into their roles and are generating some great bookings.
 
"As newcomer to the region, our partners in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands are delighted with the number of bookings we're producing so far " said Kevin Preston , If Only...'s Product Manager for the new destinations,  "and agents have also been very positive, snapping up our posters and display materials to dress their store windows, particularly as we've given them some great 'themed' tours to promote."
"In addition to creating complex itineraries, we've been able to help agents convert enquires to bookings with Round the World tickets that include stopovers in North America and Asia."
 


Associate Salesbytes

Airlines & airports
Flybe New codeshare partner Singapore Airlines
Qatar Airways Announces 8 new destinations for 2017/18

Cruise lines & ferry companies
Celebrity What's new in December
Crystal Earn yourself a treat this December
RSSC Building the world's most luxurious cruise ship


Operators & other Associates
Attraction World 12 Days of Christmas competition
Balkan Holidays High snow and low prices
ClubMed This week's offers
Flexible Autos Countdown to Christmas
Funway Offers unwrapped
Glenton Fantastic Christmas ideas
Gold Medal Florida super sale and more
Jet2holidays Experience Madeira
Newmarket Holidays Top 10 Holidays of the Month
Travelcube European Luxury Offers


click  on titles above to view




FLIGHT DEALS TO ASIA!
Take advantage of our special fares to Asia - book by 9 January 2017


futureSPAA on Facebook

Paul McDougall
2 hrsEdinburgh
Fly with Europe's Best Airline Turkish Airlines to Havana!
Fly from Edinburgh with 40kg Luggage allowance from only £499!
Flights starts 20th December 2016!
... See more

John Booty
2 December at 23:28
3 Weeks, 3 Unique Christmas Gifts...
To celebrate the start of the festive season, we are giving away a number of special Christmas gifts for 3 weeks only, which will truly add to your Wendy Wu Tours holiday.
This week, our gift to you is a free scenic flight over Vietnam's most popular natural attraction, Halong Bay. This once-in-a-lifetime flight, not usually available on our group tours, will give your Vietnam holiday the edge by giving you the chance to view the stunning  ...
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Advent calendars ...

Michael Young-Richards shared DoSomethingDifferent.com's photo.
1 December at 07:59Chester
DoSomethingDifferent.com
1 December at 07:55
��DAY 1 �� It's time to start opening the doors on our advent calendar! We're giving away an array of very merry gifts every day until Christmas! The more days tha ...
See more

Wendy Cameron
30 November at 16:34Motherwell
Welcome to our Amazing Superbreak Advent Calendar !!!
This is your chance to win, courtsey of Superbreak - a 2 night London Break including Theatre Tickets for 2 people in 2017!
Each day in December we will open a door on the advent calendar revealing part of an image of a very popular product that Superbreak sell. You simply have to guess what the specific product is. ...
See more