Which? Travel celebrates its 50th anniversary

As the UK’s longest running travel magazine unveils the cover of its commemorative issue, its editor Rory Boland renews his commitment to the unique no freebies/no adverts approach that still makes Which? the most trusted voice in travel.

Since its launch in March 1974, Which? Travel has been at the forefront of making holidays better for UK travellers.

The magazine played a vital role in lobbying for the Package Travel Regulations, which provide millions of travellers every year with financial and consumer protections and led calls for vital health and safety reforms, from critical fire safety improvements in EU hotels to the flag warning system on British beaches.

More recently, when Covid shut down the travel industry almost overnight, Which? Travel was the leading voice pressuring travel operators and the government to ensure millions of customers got the refunds they were owed for cancelled holidays.

First published as Holiday Which?, the magazine rebranded in 2011 to Which? Travel, reflecting consumers’ changing and increasingly more self-reliant attitudes to travel.

In the earliest days of the magazine, intrepid Which? researchers were dispatched to popular holiday destinations, often inspecting hundreds of hotels for just a single destination feature, to see if the glossy brochures’ claims held true. It also dispatched health inspectors to reveal dangerous food hygiene standards at resorts used by UK tour operators.

The magazine still goes to extraordinary research lengths to reveal the truth about travel. Recent scoops include a deep dive of court records, revealing £11 million in outstanding County Court Judgments against five of the biggest airlines and a probe of fire safety failings at a major hotel chain, which resulted in two fire service investigations.

Uniquely, Which? Travel has remained resolutely independent over the last five decades, never accepting free trips from hotels, airlines or travel firms, or running adverts - meaning travellers know they can trust the advice and opinions it offers.

This rigour has proved equally invaluable to the industry, with the prestigious Which? Recommended Provider endorsements acting as the gold standard for travel providers.

Even as the magazine enters its sixth decade, Which? Travel remains ahead of the competition, picking up six prizes in the last five years alone at the prestigious British Society of Magazine Editors and Travel Media awards.

The anniversary issue looks back at the last fifty years of the magazine, and features interviews with former editors including Sue Leggate (1974), Patricia Yates (1990), and Lorna Cowan (2006), as well as retrospectives on London and the Canaries, destinations featured in the earliest issues. It celebrates companies who have been consistently recommended by Which? through the decades, and also offers readers a healthy dose of 21st-century advice, destination features and recommendations.

Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel, said:

“While many simply report on travel, we can happily say we’ve changed travel - tirelessly leading the charge to improve standards and safety since 1974.
“Our fiftieth anniversary has been a joyful excuse to dig back into our archives and speak to some of the people who helped make the magazine what it is today. While much has changed, I’m particularly struck by what hasn’t - and I’m proud to say that the same fearless and independent journalism that underpinned the earliest Which? Travel issues remains intact today.”

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

Link to download high-res copy of Which? Travel 50th cover art HERE and high-res image of Rory Boland HERE.
Read ‘How Which? Travel Took Off’ HERE, featuring interviews with former editors Sue Leggate, Patricia Yates, and Lorna Cowan.
A timeline of some of Which? Travel’s key achievements can be found below:

1970s

Which?’s lobbying led to limits on surcharging - a practice where the holiday company would ask you to pay more for your holiday even after you have booked it. Holiday companies can still increase the cost of your holiday by up to 8%, so Which? has gained guarantees from all Which? Recommended Provider tour operators that they will not surcharge.
Which? exposed the significant dangers children faced at some residential activity centres, which led the government to introduce a compulsory inspection and licensing scheme

1980s

Which? sent fire safety officers abroad to evidence investigations into the lack of fire precautions in European hotels. We found padlocked exits, long dead ends and unprotected stairways, which led to the EU to set out measures required to improve safety.
The Transport Select Committee supported Which?’s call for an urgent review of evacuation procedures and ferry design following the 1987 Herald of Free Enterprise disaster, when a passenger ferry travelling between Zeebrugge and Dover capsized with the loss of 193 lives. This pressure led to the UK government introducing higher safety standards in an agreement between north European countries.

1990s

Which? campaigned for the introduction of the Package Travel Regulations in 1992, which protected consumers against everything from cancellations and price-hikes to fictional promises in brochures, and kept up its pressure to ensure the measures weren't watered down by a powerful industry lobby
Which?’s recommendations to improve safety on British beaches, including a nationally recognised flag system informing people about sea conditions, were included in guidelines for local authorities.
Which? campaigned to stamp out inflated airport prices and in 1994, the British AIrports Authority guaranteed you’ll pay the same price as the high street for anything from soft drinks to clothes.
After Which?’s safety inspections found that 59 out of 60 swimming pools were dangerous, Abta and the Federation of Tour Operators agreed to contact operators and remind them that they should inspect the hotel pools to ensure they are safe before sending British tourists to the property.
Following the death of four young people at Lyme Bay, and 20 years of Which? campaigning, legislation was introduced in 1996 that made inspections and licensing compulsory for outdoor activity centres in the UK.

2000s

After Which? raised concerns about the structural integrity of hotels selected by tour operators, Thomson promised that it would be more vigilant in checking the structural safety of buildings before signing them up
Airlines routinely excluded tax from their advertised fares, until the Advertising Standards Authority ruled that any flights advertised as free or costing £1 should be exactly that. Which? met with leading airlines such as EasyJet, Flybe and Jet2, to obtain guarantees that they would comply with the ruling, and we reported further breaches to the ASA.
Which?’s report into travelling with a disability criticised the original Monarch Airlines for discriminating against passengers with certain mental health issues. As a result, the airline changed its policy, promising to individually assess whether passengers are fit for travel.

2010s

Which?’s lengthy campaign against rip-off credit and debit card charges - sometimes as high as 18% and usually added only when you checked out - saw payment fees first reduced, before they were finally outlawed in 2018.
Following Which?’s investigation into fraud on Airbnb, the site introduced a new warning for its three million users worldwide to not communicate or pay outside of Airbnb’s own systems.
After Which? found some large tour operators selling or promoting cruel animal experiences, several companies took action. British Airways Holidays stopped promoting shows where tigers were forced to jump through hoops of fire, and both Tui and Riviera Travel removed elephant rides from their itineraries.
Which? went undercover to experience car hire pressure-selling first hand. Our hidden cameras exposed the lies and bullying tactics used by Goldcar to upsell insurance, and we presented our evidence to the Competition and Markets Authority. Goldcar told us they do not condone the use of misleading statements and have introduced a programme of large-scale change. Bullying tactics in car hire sales is an issue we continue to investigate.
Enforcement action was taken against major hotel booking sites after we shared evidence of misleading sales tactics, including hidden fees like city taxes and service charges added at the check out. As a result, major sites like Booking.com and Expedia agreed to display the full cost of a hotel room up front.

2020s

During the pandemic Which? investigated hundreds of airlines and holiday companies, and found many were illegally withholding customer refunds. We reported several to the Competition and Markets Authority, and forced them to hand back the money.
After investigating fire safety issues in UK hotels, Which? reported two Britannia Hotels to the fire service. Both were paid visits, with one told informally to make improvements while the other was handed an enforcement notice. The hotel also said it had 'investigated and addressed' the issues.
Following pressure from Which?, the Department for Transport dropped proposals to reduce domestic flight compensation in case of delays and disruption
Which? investigators revealed that millions of pounds worth of CCJs had mounted up against major airlines, including Wizz Air. The regulator subsequently took enforcement action against the airline,and it committed to contacting customers to pay the money back.

About Which?

Which? is the UK’s consumer champion, here to make life simpler, fairer and safer for everyone. Our research gets to the heart of consumer issues, our advice is impartial, and our rigorous product tests lead to expert recommendations. We’re the independent consumer voice that influences politicians and lawmakers, investigates, holds businesses to account and makes change happen. As an organisation we’re not for profit and all for making consumers more powerful.

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