Tourism battle looms

Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

Caribbean hoteliers are threatening legal action against European tour operator, Thomas Cook, if the company goes ahead with a five per cent reduction in payment of August and September arrival invoices.

Thomas Cook says it has had a tough couple of months, financially, as a result of the Icelandic ash crisis in the summer and cannot pay the full amount owed to its suppliers. It is estimated that the loss to the travel and tourism industry because of the ash crisis was £70 million.

But the move by Thomas Cook has been strongly criticised by the Caribbean Hotel and Tourist Association (CHTA), which has deemed the company's action unethical.

Secretary General of the CHTA, Alec Sanguinetti, in a release on Friday, said his organisation is sending a letter to Thomas Cook on behalf of its member hotel associations expressing their concern and rejection of such unilateral actions by Thomas Cook.

Sanguinetti noted that Thomas Cook was not the only travel entity to have experienced losses in the summer of 2010, and that Caribbean hoteliers have also had the most challenging economic conditions to deal with in modern history.

Strong actions

Barring the cessation of this unauthorised policy of deductions for agreed-upon arrivals, the CHTA said it is supporting the strongest possible actions by its affected member associations against Thomas Cook.

"We can't have any company taking unilateral and unauthorised monetary deductions because they experienced a drop in their earnings, no matter how steeped in history, and credibility they have accumulated over the years," Sanguinetti said.

"Tour-operator contracts have been negotiated and are currently in place. Contracts are to be upheld by both parties and when this breaks down unilaterally, it undermines the entire contracting system," he added.

The Caribbean's response comes in the wake of hoteliers in Spain threatening to take the tour operator to court for the same reasons. An article in Travel Weekly on Thursday said with payments due next week, Ignacio Vasallo, United Kingdom director of the Spanish Tourist Office, said hoteliers in that destination were waiting to see if the operator would stand firm on its decision.

Vasallo reportedly said if payments were less than agreed, he expected hoteliers to take the matter to court with the support of the Spanish tourism ministry. "I expect Thomas Cook to back down; that's what it has to do. Hoteliers are ready to go to court as it is a breach of contract."

In the meantime, Thomas Cook has been making calls to hoteliers in Cancún and Caribbean countries advising them of its intentions.

Janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com