£240 million fake holiday sickness claims scams
The government has today launched a call for evidence to get travel industry guidance on how to tackle the plague of fake holiday sickness claims, which Abta says has so far cost £240 million.
Experts will be asked to help inform the next step in the false claims epidemic to help the government, has vowed to crackdown on the issue.
The four-week call for evidence is intended to give Ministers a greater insight into the alleged rise in holidaymakers making false claims of suffering gastric illnesses like food poisoning while abroad
Abta recorded a 500% rise in the number of claims, from around 5,000 claims in 2013 to around 35,000 claims in 2016, leading to the belief that many were fraudulent. Thousands of claims – at an average value of £2,100 – are being disputed by hoteliers and the rise in claims has not been seen from holidaymakers travelling from other countries.
Tui, which owns all-inclusive specialist First Choice, recorded a 1,400% rise in claims in the last two years.