Rise in travel complaints last year

The travel industry was hit by a surge of complaints last year, judging by figures released by the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) yesterday.

There were 1,396 travel cases last year, a 40 per cent jump from 994 cases in 2010.

The increase is the largest among the 10 industries with the most cases.

Mr Seah Seng Choon, executive director of Case, attributed the rise to more Singaporeans travelling last year.

"There was also aggressive promotion by online vendors... The flood in Thailand and the unstable condition in Japan (last year) also generated disputes relating to the cancellation of tours," he said.

Explaining the challenges travel agents face, Mr Robert Khoo, chief executive of National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (Natas), said travel agents are often subjected to changing policies imposed by different airlines, such as requiring agents to pay upfront when reserving block seats.

To tackle the spate of complaints, Natas is looking at engaging lawyers to draft "uniform" terms and conditions which its members have to adopt. This is to ensure that no unreasonable conditions will be imposed and to ensure fairness for both agencies and consumers.

Mr Khoo hopes to roll out the new conditions by the end of this year. Currently, travel agencies each have their own terms and conditions.

Other Case figures showed that while the beauty industry still tops the list with the most cases, the number of cases dipped by close to 50 per cent from 3,111 in 2010 to 1,565 last year.

This could be due to Case's efforts in setting up the CaseTrust accreditation scheme for the spa and wellness industry, which has raised standards, said Mr Seah.

The telecommunications industry saw a 25 per cent rise in cases last year to 1,453, compared to 2010. This is due to a rise in third-party premium-rate services due to greater use of smartphones, said Mr Seah.

CTC Travel said the number of complaints it received dropped by more than 50 per cent last year, compared to 2010.

It credits this to stringent standard operating procedures that staff abide by and efficient customer-service communications to address issues raised.

ASA Holidays said the rise in complaints for the travel industry may be due to group-buying sites offering travel packages at low prices, with buyers subsequently getting a package that is different from what was advertised.

The rise in complaints could also be due to Singaporeans increasingly becoming "a travel-savvy and discerning lot", said Chan Brothers Travel.

joyfang@sph.com.sg

For more my paper stories click here.