HC Deb 15 July 1974 vol 877 cc15-7
14. Mr. McCrindle

asked the Secretary of State for Trade how many representations he has received since 1st April from people complaining of cancellation or alteration to pre-booked package tours.

Mr. Deakins

One.

Mr. McCrindle

Is it not evident from that reply that, notwithstanding a few well-publicised exceptions, the British holidaymaker continues to get a good deal from the majority of package tour firms in this country? In view of the difficulty through which the travel industry has been passing recently, will the hon. Gentleman encourage the continuing development of the package tour industry as the means whereby many quite ordinary people have been able to go abroad since the end of the war?

Mr. Deakins

I can endorse the hon. Gentleman's enthusiasm for the achievements of the British package tour industry, which has done a great deal to give many people a holiday overseas that they would never have been able to afford otherwise. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will not take my reply that we have had one complaint as any indication of Government complacency, because there are from time to time fringe operators where things can go wrong and it is only right that the Government should be concerned about these matters.

Mrs. Dunwoody

Is my hon. Friend aware that it would be as well not to be too complacent about the activities of his Department in overseeing the travel industry, as I informed it six weeks before the Court Line disaster that members of the tourist industry themselves were deeply concerned about the numbers of package tours likely to be affected and how holidaymakers would be in grave danger if anything went wrong?

Mr. Deakins

Account was taken of my hon. Friend's advance warning. It was one of the reasons why we were able to react so quickly when the Court Line business came to a head.

Mr. Heseltine

If the hon. Gentleman's Department had six weeks' advance notice, why was there not time to consult the industrial advisers?

Mr. Deakins

Until we had spoken to Court Line—

Mr. Heseltine

Six weeks?

Mr. Deakins

We were concerned about the holiday side of the business, not the shipbuilding side. It was only when the firm came to us that we had to take account of the whole of its operations and not merely the holiday part, which is the direct concern of my Department.