I do hope that this spurs a good debate as I for one would like to see what peoples thoughts are.

Over the years nearly all the bigger travel companies have hung on and promoted the “WE ARE ATOL PROTECTED” status as a way of creating custom and to an extent instilling the fear of god into people that they must book with an ATOL approved agent. Do these people book because they believe they are safe and booking with a credible travel company, or, do they book because they know that if the agent or provider fails they will get their money back. Would you therefore insist on seeing you ATOL certificate if or be bothered about it if you booked a holiday with Emirates?

As an ex travel agent it used to make me laugh when customers would demand “where is my ATOL certificate” but hardly any of them would actually know why they were getting one – but it did used to win us custom being ATOL approved. You only need to look at all the travel adverts and they say “ATOL PROTECTED” at the end.

I know there are millions of people that will book a flight direct, hotel with a hotel only site and a transfer separately, purely on the basis that they can save a few pounds, therefore in the grand scale of things is having an ATOL that important. Is it really the be all and end all of whether you should book with a company or not if they do not have one. Look at Air BnB, they are not ATOL protected and they have gone from nothing to a turnover of millions in no time.

You cannot say people are that bothered, they have embraced Air BnB all the same full well knowing there is no ATOL etc.

I read recently that the local authorities, like the CAA etc are lobbying that companies like Air BnB and Uber as they are ‘unsafe’ and that they must be brought into line and regulated (probably because they can tax them), but is it that true. You only need to look at the Thomas Cook case last year where two children died in a tragic situation where a faulty boiler caused their death in one of their hotels in Corfu. I know there will be millions of people that book with TC because people believe it is safe and that they are ATOL protected (I am not saying there not safe at all, but trying to show a distinction).

I just can’t help but think that all the big travel companies,operators and the authorities have in effect scared everyone into thinking they must have an ATOL certificate when they have booked their holiday because that is the way it should be.

Anyway, answers please…..I am genuinely interested to see what people think as to whether they need an ATOL and how they view that in the current day and whether having an ATOL is that important and whether they would not book if that company was not ATOL protected (bearing in mind most of you at some point would have booked your holiday in separate parts and would not be ATOL protected anyway).

MC