In recent weeks, Abta members have reported a significant rise in numbers of gastric illness compensation claims in 2016.

With the Package Travel Regulations making travel companies liable for the proper performance of all services sold as part of the holiday, understandably this is causing considerable consternation in the industry, as well as among overseas accommodation suppliers.

Of course, it is important to recognise that genuine sickness incidents and outbreaks do happen. Where sickness claims are supported by evidence, and are connected to a breakdown in hygiene processes, the industry has a legal and moral responsibility to put things right.

However, using data and feedback from our members, the evidence shows that the significant increases in gastric sickness claims simply do not match up with recorded sickness levels in resort. It is clear that something else is happening. So what is the cause?

The evidence Abta has seen points towards an increase in the travel-related activities of claims management companies, following civil justice reforms in 2012. The decision to exclude overseas claims from the Ministry of Justice’s Claims Portal, which limits the recoverable legal costs connected to personal injury claims of less than £25,000, means that travel businesses do not benefit from a fixed-recoverable costs regime, unlike other industries such as motor insurers. This means that the cost of defending claims can escalate disproportionately in relation to the compensation that is payable to consumers.

Abta also has serious concerns over some of the marketing practices used by claims companies, especially in the way that they are contacting customers and the use of personal data.

Last week, Abta met with the Ministry of Justice to discuss the industry’s concerns, asking the government and other regulators to consider what can be done to address this issue. While any regulatory change can understandably take time, the meeting demonstrated to us that officials do understand that there is a real problem that needs further examination. In particular, we pressed home our concerns about the long term negative impacts on the industry and, ultimately, consumers.

Abta will continue to work proactively with the policymakers and regulators, sharing intelligence and data to support the industry’s case for change, and we will update Members as this work progresses. We also welcome the support being offered by those overseas governments for whom this is also a serious concern.

In the meantime, it is also very important that the industry considers any practical steps that can be taken to improve the management and processing of sickness claims. To this end, over the coming weeks, Abta will be working with Members to encourage further collaboration with overseas accommodation suppliers to ensure that adequate systems and processes are in place to manage, report and address sickness incidents occurring in resort.

The industry has a good track record of working with suppliers around health and safety - Abta itself distributes its Health and Safety Technical Guide to over 30,000 suppliers across the globe and we will continue our engagement with destinations and accommodation providers.