of alerting to this possible massive fraud in the campaigns of Safe Tourism that are realized annually, with special emphasis in the airports with important traffic of tourists coming from the United Kingdom.

These were the main conclusions of the meeting held on Thursday in the city council of Benidorm, the mayor of the city, Toni Pérez, with the British consul, Sarah-Jane Morris.

Also attending this meeting were the president of the hotel management Hosbec, Antonio Mayor; The secretary general of this entity, Nuria Montes; The manager of the Visit Benidorm Foundation, Leire Bilbao; The mayor of Security, Lorenzo Martinez, the Commissioner of the National Police Juan Carlos Hernandez and the mayor of the Local Police, Juan Fuertes.

These false claims were detected last year by coastal hotels across the country, after beginning to receive countless payment requests for alleged ailments or poisonings suffered during their stay at the hotel.

The fact is that these claims never take place during your visit to our country, but occur even several months after your vacation and without providing a medical part that justifies the illness, according to industry sources.

Benidorm hoteliers have complained on many occasions of the presence of British lawyers who even in the hotels themselves encourage customers to submit claims to get their holiday money back.

Discounted from invoice

It is common for contracts between tour operators and hotel establishments to include clauses whereby the wholesaler discounts the hotels’ expenses for the alleged food poisoning and for the legal assistance received by the tourist.

Both the City of Benidorm and the hotel sector and the consular corps of the United Kingdom have agreed on their interest in combating these fraudulent practices, which would be encouraged by British law firms.

Some buffets that «have found in this practice a vein to do business», a matter that have started to face the hoteliers, travel agencies and British tour operators, said in a statement from the City of Benidorm.

According to the press release, the British Foreign Office «is very motivated in the fight against these claims», considering that the controversy surrounding this malpractice «is damaging the image of the British people» .