ASA Adjudication on Island Getaways Ltd

Ad

A national press ad, for holidays to Italy, stated "Sorrento & beautiful Amalfi Coast ...". Smaller text below continued "Take advantage of this low price offer to Sorrento ... It includes two FREE tours to Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii and also to the truly stunning Amalfi Coast ... FREE TOURS to the breathtakingly beautiful AMALFI COAST AND Mt. VESUVIUS & POMPEII when booked by 30 March".

Issue

The complainant challenged whether the claim "FREE TOURS ... " was misleading. She booked the advertised holiday but, two weeks prior to departure, she was informed that the tours, which were confirmed as free in her invoice, were not included; only transport to the sites was free.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

Italian Getaways (IG) said the "Free Tours" consisted of transport on a luxury air-conditioned coach and a qualified, multilingual guide. They said the decision to pay any mandatory entrance fees on the tours to the Amalfi coast, Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii was made by individual holiday makers. IG added that attendance on the tours was an optional part of the holiday package.

IG explained that the Mount Vesuvius tour saw the coach ascend three quarters of the way up to the summit of the volcano where it stopped at a vantage point. Passengers could then disembark to admire the view and take photographs. They said those who wished to continue the journey to the summit had to pay an entrance fee imposed by the local Historic Site Authority (HSA). They were then escorted by an HSA guide on foot to the summit. IG said the HSA also charged a small fee to enter the ruins at Pompeii. They said each entrance fee amounted to several Euros.

IG sent us positive testimonials from seven consumers who had gone on the tours. They asserted that it was possible for holiday makers to participate in the tours and not incur any costs, meaning that the tours were free.

Assessment

Upheld

We noted the tours were an optional part of the holiday package and noted it was possible for holiday makers to participate in the tours without incurring any costs. We nevertheless understood that payment was required to enter the Roman ruins at Pompeii and to reach the summit of the volcano at Mount Vesuvius.

We noted the ad stated "You will have the opportunity to visit the Roman ruins of Pompeii, the natural wonder that is Mount Vesuvius ...". We considered that some readers would have booked the trip specifically because they wanted to visit these sites and were likely to infer from the claim "FREE TOURS" that entrance to those sites was included in the holiday package price. Because they were not, we concluded that the claim "FREE TOURS" could mislead.

The ad breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation), 7.1 (Truthfulness), 27.4 (Unnecessary disappointment) and 32.1 (Free offers).

Action

We told Italian Getaways to remove the claim "FREE TOURS" from the ad.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)