The airline’s misdemeanour? The flights were actually landing in Treviso, Skavsta and Torp, respectively – miles away from their advertised destinations. Fast forward to October 2023 when the ASA upheld a similar complaint about Royal Caribbean International’s adverts for its Venice cruises.

The ads billed the departure point as Venice (Ravenna), which the ASA said implied the cruises departed from Venice when, in fact, they left Ravenna – two hours down the coast from the lagoon city. The ASA duly found the ads to be “misleading” and told Royal they must not appear in the form complained of again.

Royal argued that as cruise ships were now banned from docking in Venice, it was required “to use whatever alternative cruise port was available to provide reasonable access to Venice”.

When asked by TTG whether he was concerned about the ramifications of the ruling for the industry, the line’s EMEA vice-president Ben Bouldin said: “[The ASA] looks at it in a very black and white way.

"We’ve removed Venice from our marketing, but we say we offer tours there. We’ve complied fully with the ASA’s investigation and made the adjustment they’ve asked us to make.”

The ASA ruled consumers would “likely assume they could travel to Venice to join the cruise at its departure port”.

“However, we understood both cities were independent ports that were distinct from one another,” the ASA added. “Venice was the capital of the Veneto region, while Ravenna was situated in the Emilia-Romagna region, and was 90 miles away.”

To compound matters for Royal, the ASA stated customers would compare “Venice (Ravenna)” to “Sicily (Messina)”, another port of call included in the itinerary featured in the offending ads.

“[Customers] were likely to understand that Ravenna was a port city within Venice, which isn’t the case,” the ASA said. “This was heightened by the comparison to Sicily [Messina] and because Messina is within Sicily, consumers could understandably assume the same for Venice.”

’Clear marketing messages’

So, what impact will this ruling have for cruise lines operating in the UK? After all, cruise lines commonly bracket the actual location of the departure point next to a prominent landmark port, such as London or Rome.

Matt Gatenby, senior partner at Travlaw, described the ASA’s ruling as “a warning shot to any cruise lines advertising in this way”.

“If a customer makes a complaint, it’s hard to see the ASA ruling any differently,” he said, adding he felt the ruling was “harsh”. “If Royal had just said ‘Venice’, then fair enough, but the fact they said ‘Ravenna’ as well makes it harsh."

Travel communications specialist Phil Bloomfield is less forgiving. He urged travel brands to make sure their marketing messages were “transparent”. “Brands will save themselves from similar run-ins with the ASA if they take the time to ensure their marketing messages are clear from the outset,” he said.

“Brand trust is rooted in transparency, so it’s not surprising Royal has had its wrist slapped for suggesting their cruises departed from a place that was actually two hours away. For the average customer, it will feel like duplicity – it would be the same as saying ‘London’ when in actual fact the departure point is Northampton.”

While the ASA is limited in the kind of punishments it can hand down to suppliers falling foul of its rulings, it can refer cases to Trading Standards, which can take businesses to court – or stop them operating altogether.

Gatenby doesn’t believe the case will be escalated, but warned: “It’s always worth making sure your advertising is accurate. The ASA likes to have a pop at the travel industry, rightly or wrongly. They think it’s fertile ground.”