UKCBC: Legislation & Ethics in Travel & Tourism Contract Law

This report discusses contract legislation in the travel and tourism sector, focusing on consumer protection. It explains key elements of contract law, including offer, acceptance, consideration, capacity, and certainty, in the context of services provided by companies like Thomas Cook. The repo...Read More

LEGISLATION AND ETHICS IN TOURISM AND TRAVEL SECTOR
Explaining contract legislation in relation to travel and tourism customers:
A travel and tourism company always bounds with the customers about the services
and products provided to them. This will secure the services offered to the
customers at its best. In this contract there is a lot of details available for various
services which have offered to the customers. These includes time of arrival, time of
departure, details of destination, charges for stay etc. This contract law states the
confirmation of the services which are going to offer to the customers. If the
company fails to provide these services to the customers, it can withdraw from the
contract legislation and terminate the contract. This contract has some of the
standard elements which are stated as follows:
Offer: In this standard the offer is given to the customers to accept the services of
Thomas Cook. The offer provided by the offer or and is accepted by offeree. This
contract is based on the offer of services provided to the customer. If the customer is
not satisfied with the services of offer or than it can neglect from the contract. This
contract provides the evidence of satisfaction of the customers on paper about the
services offered.
Acceptance: In this standard the offer is accepted by the offeree by understanding all
the details entailed within the contract. This feature provides a confirmation to the
offer or that the customer is ready to accept the services of Thomas Cook. This
standard starts the tour packages from the holiday of customers. In addition to this,
this standard also allows the company to arrange all the resources to the customers
so that there will be no issue present while provides the quality services.
Consideration It is known as the consideration of both parties on the contract. The
contract can only be considered after a certain and complete understanding of it. If
the contract is not considered than it cannot be challenged as per the law. In case of
Thomas Cook, the charges determined by the company should be considered by the
customers to make it legal.
Capacity: This facility provides the clear and acceptable statements of the
information provided to the customer. This information includes exact age, number
of members and other details. Without having proper information, it is not possible
to ascertain the contract as per law. This standard also provide assistance to Thomas
Cook to start preparation for the tours and package.
Certainty: This standard states that both the parties should be certain about the
laws, terms and conditions in the contract. Without certainty within the contract, it
will lead to miscommunication among the parties. Therefore, mismanagement will
not assure the quality of services and customer satisfaction. Therefore, Thomas
Cook should, always certain the contract to the customer already.
Consumer protection legislations:
Consumer protection is necessary for the protection of consumer's rights and safety.
This is done in order to protect the consumer's interest which can be violated by
travel and tourism agents and business owners. Following are some of the laws and
legislations which can help in protecting the rights of customers.
Trade Description Act 1968: This act deals to the person who are suffering from
misleading of contract description. This act fines the penalties over the business and
travel agents on giving false information to the customers. This action will not only
secure the rights of customers but also save them financially. The penalty is imposed
on the business owners and travel agents so that they should not misguide any other
customer in future. In case of Thomas Cook, if the hotel has given information of five
start accommodation but they are giving 3 start facilities than it will be considered as
false commitment to the customer. This act will be fined against the trade description
act, 1968 and thus penalized the company. The penalty to the owner and travel agent
can be defined as for money and prison and both.
Consumer Protection Act, 1987: This act mainly deals with the prices of the
services offered to the customers. The prices include for accommodation, food,
travelling etc. The pricing can be misled by catching more prices as stated in the
contract. This will have counted as against the consumer protection act, 1987. If the
services provider is charging more as compared to the stated charge, than it will lead
to misleading of the prices concerned. This act protects the breached laws and
legislations which are saving the customer's rights. Accodu8ng to this act, the pricing
should be mentioned in the itinerary or brochure provided to the customer. As per the
fines and penalties in breaching this act, depends upon the situation of the breaching
of act. Therefore, every travel agent and touring company should protect the rights of
customers so as to run the business smoothly.