Travel/Holidays

The advertisement offered an “All inclusive” holiday to the “Aqua Fantasy Aquapark Hotel & Spa, Kusadasi, Aegean Coast Turkey”.

The complainant said the hotel was advertised as “Aquapark Hotel and Spa” yet there was nothing to suggest that the Aquapark was in anyway separate to the hotel or was not included as part of their holiday package. The complainant said they booked to stay at the complex in April 2023 on the basis that the Aquapark would be open, it transpired that the Aquapark was only open from May to October. They considered that this fact should have been referenced in the advertising material at the time of booking.

The advertisers failed to provide a response to the complaint.

Complaint upheld.

The Complaints Committee considered the detail of the complaint and expressed concern at the advertisers’ failure to respond in the matter. They reminded them that there is an onus on advertisers to demonstrate that their advertising is in conformity with the Code.

The Committee noted the Code requirement that that “A marketing communication should not mislead, or be likely to mislead, by inaccuracy, ambiguity, exaggeration, omission or otherwise” (Section 4.1). They also noted that as per Section 4.28(a) of the Code that “Advertisers should not exaggerate the availability of products advertised”. In this instance as the advertisement had not referred to the fact that the Aquapark was only open from May to October or that it was potentially separate from the resort, and in the absence of a response, the Committee considered that the advertisement was in breach of Sections 3.10, 4.1 and 4.28(a) of the Code

Action Required:
The advertising should not be published in the same format again.

The Committee also requested that the advertisers exercise greater care with future marketing communications to ensure that all holiday descriptions match what is available to consumers.