Some of the worst countries on the planet for holidaymakers getting sick on their winter holidays have been revealed.
According to the national press – more than a quarter of all winter holiday illness cases originate in Egypt – with Mexico following closely behind as the second worst destination.
The report, by a leading UK law firm, claims that a large percentage of holiday complaints comes from food poisoning or food being left out and causing some form of sickness.
The top five destinations which were drawn out in the report all have some of the warmest climates in the world, where there is a much higher chance of bacteria spreading quickly, causing a range of sickness cases.
Many all-inclusive resorts offer a buffet service and open restaurants where food is exposed for long periods of time.
Types of food poisoning that can be contracted are typical gastrointestinal illness such as salmonella, typhoid, campylobacter and E. coli.
The Canary Islands and Morocco, each at three percent, make up the top five most common holiday illness locations for package holidays.
Hassan Ansari, the owner of Rochdale firm Holiday Claims Expert, said:
A lot of people still don’t realize that they can claim holiday compensation when things like this happen to them on holiday.Our clients often come to us with doubts in their mind about whether or not they are entitled to anything – the chances are they absolutely are. It has happened time and time again where the holiday makers have come home after falling ill on holiday and their complaints have been ignored. Responsibility is avoided in these cases – and that’s basically where we come in.
Just recently, it was reported in the nationals how dozens of British holiday-makers were struck down with crippling diarrhoea in Tenerife, after guests found “human dirt” in the swimming pool.
Doctors suspected that those who got ill were victims of an outbreak of cryptosporidium because of the extremely poor hygiene, a case that could be dealt with by holiday claims solicitors.
Hassan added: “Sadly this is something a little bit too common – we get calls about some shocking hygiene situations from package holidays – people have done through all sorts.”
“That’s why we give a free assessment to our clients – they have been through an experience like this and they don’t know the law or where they stand. It feels good when we get them what they deserve, it has to be said.”
Information from the Citizens Advice states:
If you went on a package holiday, you’re legally entitled to compensation if:
- The holiday you went on was lower in value than the one you booked, e.g. you paid for a deluxe room but only got a standard room – this is called ‘loss of value’ and you can claim back the difference in value
- You had to spend extra money because of a problem with the holiday, e.g. you had to pay for another hotel because there were fewer beds than you booked – this is called claiming for ‘out-of-pocket expenses’
- Something goes wrong that causes you distress or disappointment, e.g. if the pool was closed for the whole trip – this is called ‘loss of enjoyment’
- There’s no strict guidance on how much you can claim for loss of enjoyment. You’ll need to think of an amount that reflects the portion of the holiday that was affected.
You’ll only be able to get the full cost of the holiday back if it was completely ruined.
You can’t get compensation if:
- You simply didn’t enjoy the holiday, even though it matched what you booked
- The problem was out of the holiday company’s control, e.g. bad weather
- You’ve already been compensated, e.g. the hotel compensated you while you were staying there.
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