HATTA Ensures Consumers Safe Holiday Travel

The Hellenic Association of Travel and Tourist Agencies recently expressed its satisfaction as Greek consumers show increasing trust in travel agencies and the holiday packages they offered during the festive season.

During an event held recently with regard to package trip and the protection of the consumer, president of HATTA, Yiannis Evangelou, expressed his “satisfaction with the existing legislature that provides security to the consumer who opts for a package trip from a travel agent.”

Within the framework of a larger process for the certification of quality services provided by member travel agencies, HATTA provided a series of examples for all the documents required for the organization and sale of package trip, whose application ensures the complete and uniform application of legislature for the protection of the consumer.

According to the association, “This is an investment in the credibility of the services of travel agencies that see the protection of the consumer as a comparative advantage and not just an obligation.”

Indicatively, the consumer must be certain that before any financial transaction is made with a travel agency, the latter is recognized by the Greek National Tourism Organization and bears the relative sign. The aforementioned also applies for online travel agencies that must also be recognized and approved by the GNTO.

The consumer is required to read carefully before signing any document presented by the travel agent from whom they wish to purchase a package trip. HATTA also aims to communicate to consumers that information on credible travel agents can be obtained both from the association and the GNTO.

HATTA also recently expressed some reservations for the liberation of air ticket distribution and the cost to the consumer. The regulation proposal on the code of conduct for computerized reservation systems (CRSs), presented in November 2007 by the European Commission, according to the association, “contains some important safeguards, but does not address the threat to consumers losing neutral and complete access to fares.”