Whether booking a holiday independently or going through an agent, there are a number of pitfalls travellers should avoid and tips to remember to ensure all goes smoothly. Here’s a roundup.
Verify travel agent credentials
If booking through an agent, holidaymakers can avoid scams by ensuring they are a working with a verified operator. Projected growth in the travel industry means an increasing number of people are setting themselves up as travel agents, but not all of them are legitimate. As many as 55,000 travel scams resulting in losses of over $122 million occurred in 2023, according to US Federal Trade Commission data.
“One thing that we’re seeing a lot of in our industry is scamming from people who are pretending to be travel agents,” Erika Richter, vice president of communications for the American Society of Travel Advisors, headquartered in Virginia, told Fox News Digital. Richter notes that “the barrier to entry is really low. You need more hours and licenses to cut hair than you do to book travel for someone.”
With that in mind, vacationers should check their travel agent’s credentials via professional certification schemes, such as verivacation.com. IATA also provides travel agent accreditation. In addition, an operator who is a member of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) should provide cover trips that involve trains, cruises and car travel when a provider goes bust or something has been mis-sold, while the Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (ATOL) gives protection where flights are concerned.
Double check the best deals and “mobile-only” offers
Consumer organisations such as Which? have found that special deals on holiday booking platforms are not always what they seem. Some offer “mobile-only” deals that are not as cheap as they claim. In fact, research conducted by Which? in 2024 found that on Hotels.com, 50% of offers advertised as mobile deals on smartphones were the same price when viewed on a laptop. Worse, for Expedia, they found special deals were up to 15% cheaper on a laptop, and booking directly with an accommodation provider sometimes resulted in cheaper prices too.
Watch out for dodgy Wi-Fi networks and charging stations
When connecting to public Wi-Fi networks, such as those in cafés, on some trains such as Eurostar, or aircraft, and even open city data connections, personal information accessed through devices can become vulnerable to backdoor brute force scammers and cyberattacks. These days many people have banking apps, identity provers, password storage, and more available on their devices. It’s always worth using a reputable Virtual Private Network (VPN) to encrypt, mask and protect data and activity.
Avoid leaving devices unattended, even if “watched over” by a seemingly respectable person. It only takes seconds to insert a USB with malware on it into a port. Also note that, in the same way that cash distributors can be hacked to read the information stored on bankcards, public mobile charging stations can be infected with malware. Travellers are best off carrying their own portable chargers.
Check destination safety
Government advice from the US State Department and the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCDO) can be invaluable for keeping travellers safe and making sure their insurance will be valid if something goes wrong. With four advisory levels (one being the safest), the advice is updated when there are incidents involving violence or political uprisings, when destinations suffer from heightened criminality, or when weather events make travel unsafe.
Travellers should be aware that often the advice provided is on a granular scale, covering regions and areas within a country, so it’s vital to read the details carefully.
Importantly, the advice also notes where consular help is available (or not). The highest alert levels such as “Do Not Travel” warnings often mean travellers are eligible to claim on their insurance if a trip needs to be cancelled – and, if people choose to go ahead with their vacation anyway, insurance can be invalid.
Various apps from mobile providers and social networks allow users to make emergency calls or let loved ones know they are safe in a disaster situation. Schemes such as the US State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP.state.gov) offer alerts and other U.S. embassy info while abroad and signing up also means the U.S. embassy can contact travellers.
Take out or check your travel insurance
This may seem obvious to seasoned travellers but insurance to cover health emergencies while on vacation is an important part of being prepared. Travellers should not assume that they are covered by any regular domestic insurance they have, especially if visiting unusual destinations, places for which high level travel alerts have been issued, or if planning to play sports, drive or do outdoor activities. Holidaymakers and those travelling for work should always check the small print to ensure there are no nasty surprises if illness or an accident should strike.
Many paid-for banking services, credit cards, and even supermarket loyalty programmes bundle offers together, so some people may find they already have a travel insurance that they had forgotten about.
It’s also worth noting that some home insurance policies will cover certain items up to a certain value against theft or damage when policyholders or family members away from home. Some contracts offer extras too, such as legal assistance or 24-hour helplines. Again, check the small print.
