ABTA is marking 75 years since its launch in 1950 to set standards for businesses involved in the emerging world of international travel.
It started with 87 members but now represents roughly 4,300 travel brands, making it the largest travel trade association in the UK.
Holidays have changed considerably since ABTA’s inception, with most people taking domestic breaks to UK seaside resorts in the 1950s.
The Balearics, the Italian Riviera, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland and Germany were the most-booked destinations when package holidays first became popular.
Visited by 83% of UK travellers, Europe remains the top choice for overseas trips, according to ABTA’s latest Holiday Habits Report.
Its Code of Conduct still sets out a framework for all members to act and trade responsibly and ‘do the right thing’ by customers, said ABTA.
The trade association helped with the industry’s first significant failure in July 1964 when Fiesta Tours, a non-ABTA member, collapsed, leaving 2,000 holidaymakers stranded.
In response, ABTA set up the first fund to repatriate customers in the event of a failure, underlining the importance to customers of their holiday bookings being financially protected.
More recently, the association handled more than 1,400 customer claims following the failure of the original Thomas Cook in 2019, and it stepped up its advice for holidaymakers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now, 88% of people say that they would rather book a holiday with an ABTA member.
ABTA Chief Executive, Mark Tanzer said: “ABTA was born out of a desire to make travel better; to give people confidence that when they book a holiday with an ABTA member, they know that company is committed to delivering high standards and an exceptional service.”
Althams Travel Managing Director Sandra McAllister said: “We are extremely proud to be one of the founding members of ABTA.
“The use of the ABTA logo is essential to us as it instantly signifies trust to our customers. ABTA is recognised as the ultimate association offering security, protection and a vital safety net, which is priceless.”
