It comes as the European Union announced in late October the scheme, following years of delays, will now come into force in mid-2025 at the earliest.
Under the plan, which was initially signed off by the European Parliament in 2018, holidaymakers from 60 non-EU countries, such as the UK, will have to apply in advance to travel to Europe as well as pay a €7 fee.
Speaking at World Travel Market London last week, Izabella Cooper, senior stakeholder management officer, European Border and Coast, told a panel discussion the EU had recently seen the “rapid emergence” of fake Etias websites - in the same style as those that dog the US Esta application process.
Lo Bue-Said has now urged the EU to launch a “strong public awareness campaign” if it wants to avoid travellers falling prey to criminals.
“It’s important for consumers to know that there is only one official Etias website for travellers to use and that although the website is already operating it will not allow people to apply as the scheme has been pushed back to 2025,” she said.
“People should be particularly wary of websites offering an early-bird discount which is not a function of the official scheme.”
Her warning follows comments from Spain’s secretary of state for tourism Rosanna Morillo at World Travel Market London that the scheme will not cause issues to British travellers.
“With any changes like this, the processes will get better and better with time, but so far – and I’ve seen the current design – I don’t foresee a big issue for British travellers,” she said. “I think the scheme is pretty reasonable.”
