This year the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has already received 140 complaints about the tourism industry. It often turns out that the offer presented in colourful catalogues or on a website, and the provisions of the contract significantly differ from the reality. There are also problems with submitting complaints – travel agencies do not respond to them.
In recent months, the Office has met with representatives of the tourism industry to discuss self-regulation and how to tackle major problems. During the meetings, UOKiK also discussed what fees can be deducted by the travel agency when a customer withdraws from a trip. In accordance with the regulations in force since July 2018, their amount may be linked in the contract to the period of time left before the departure. However, the fees must reflect the actual expenses incurred in organising and cancelling the trip for the person concerned, which the organiser is no longer able to recover. At the request of the passenger, the travel agency must justify the amount of the cancellation fees.
Currently the Office is drawing the attention of travel agencies to the problem of the lack of access to certain attractions. The companies present their hotel and resort offer in detail in catalogues and on the website, but only in the general terms and conditions of participation in tourist events or in the appendices to the contract they stipulate that some of the listed bars, restaurants, swimming pools or equipment rental companies may be closed in the off-season.
“This may mislead customers: they are tempted by specific attractions, but only once they get there they will find out how many of them are in operation. We also do not like the fact that in this way travel agencies try to evade responsibility for the lack of the facilities promised in the catalogue”, says Marek Niechciał, the President of UOKiK.
