Travel agents must stop misleading consumers by omitting fixed non-optional costs from the price of holidays they advertise, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said today.
Issuing a warning to the holiday industry, the OFT said it would take action against any firms engaging in misleading holiday pricing.
But it revealed that the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) has agreed to incorporate non-optional cost requirements into its code of conduct, strengthening hopes that compliance will be improved in the future.
"Giving misleading price indications to consumers makes it very difficult for them to compare prices offered by different operators," explained OFT chief executive John Fingleton.
"It distorts consumer choice and competition and undermines consumer confidence in the market."
One flight from the UK to Barcelona was more than double the originally advertised price of £19.99 after all fixed non-optional costs were included, the OFT said.
The ABTA organisation claims to control over 90 per cent of the travel industry. Non-members, including airlines, tour operators and travel suppliers, are likely to face action from the OFT if they fail to comply, today's statement said.
Digg 
Delicious 
Reddit 
StumbleUpon 
Google 
Technorati 
Netvouz