ISSUE NO. 1664
25 - 31 May 2017
A XARQUÍA - C OSTA T ROPICAL
YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION
WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM
€60 million threat Hotels to crack down on Brit fraudsters
SOLEMN: The vigil outside Malaga City Hall.
United as one LAST RESORT: The hotel industry has had enough.
By Matt Ford Spanish hoteliers are on the warpath after British tourists milked them for more than €60 million last year. Fraudulent insurance claims will now result in immediate prosecution, they say. The threat comes after the number of sickness claims rose by 700 per cent in 2016, leading the Spanish hotel owner ’s association, CEHAT, to announce a raft of “forceful measures.” After an urgent meeting with the British Association of Tour Operators and A genci e s, AB TA, in Madrid, CEHAT Secretary G enera l R a m o n E st a l ella said: “The situation has become worrying and we cannot wait for long-term measures proposed by tour operators.” Among the measures to be implemented this year will be a ‘traceability’ scheme whereby guests will have
their consumption of food and drink monitored. This will allow them to assess whether details contained in the claims, which mostly relate to food poisoning and similar complaints, marry up with clients’ behaviour while in Spain. British tourists will also be handed leaflets explaining that false insurance claims constitute a ‘felonious criminal offence’ in Spain, with guilty parties potentially facing jail sen-
tences of six months to three years. This relates to claims of more than €400, with those from the UK typically amounting to €5-6,000. A c c ording to a C EH AT s ta te me nt, the s ys te m is flawed because “according to the British officials themselves, it is cheaper to deal w ith the c la ims quic kly rather than enter en expensive legal process. “Tour operators also use a dominant market position to impose contracts under
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which hoteliers become responsible for all types of claims.” It is estimated that 90 per cent of the claims received by tour operators in 2016 were false, with the scheme driven by specialised ‘claim farms’ which employ aggressive marketing strategies.
TOWN halls across Malaga Province and Spain have united in their solidarity for the victims of the Manchester terror blast. Many held a minute’s silence outside their respective town halls, with flags at half-mast to remember those killed or injured in Monday’s shocking attack at the Manchester Arena. At least 22 people were killed and 64 injured when 22-year-old Salman Abedi, who also died, detonated a home-made explosive device in the foyer of the venue as crowds were leaving after a concert by pop star Ariana Grande. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy expressed his sadness as he tweeted: “I condemn the Manchester attack. My thoughts are with the families of the fallen victims and I wish a speedy recovery to the wounded.”