UK travel firms call for tough new laws to protect holidaymakers

Travel bosses in the UK have urged politicians to improve safety standards for holiday accommodation across the whole of Europe.

ABTA and the Federation of Tour Operators (FTO) called on members of the European Parliament to introduce common standards for gas and fire safety and for public health and infections within the European Union.

Bosses of some of Britain's biggest travel companies have already met with UK MEP Linda McAvan to ask her to start the long process of introducing new legislation, which might take at least a decade to become law.

ABTA and the FTO believe there is a need for common standards as, at the moment, different countries operate to different safety standards.

Their call for tougher safety standards follows the tragic deaths of two British children who were overcome with carbon monoxide fumes from a faulty gas heater while they slept in a holiday villa in Greece.

ABTA and the FTO said there was 'a strong case for the introduction of a new directive to ensure that everywhere in Europe has the same high standards when it comes to gas and fire safety and public health co-operation'.

ABTA chief executive Mark Tanzer added: For too long the uneven application of safety laws across Europe has been accepted by the European Union.

Our message in Brussels is that we need all tourist accommodation in Europe to hit minimum safety levels and we will continue to push for a new directive that brings standards up to a common acceptable level.""

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