Airtours Bid For Owners Abroad

EDM number 1402 in 1992-93, proposed by Malcolm Bruce on 16/02/1993.

That this House notes with concern the hostile bid for Owners Abroad by Airtours; believes that it will lead to domination of the package holiday market and in particular, by vertical integration of the holiday travel agency business, to two companies accounting for over 60 per cent. of the total market and that this is likely to lead in the long term to a reduction in consumer choice, a threat to independent tour operators and travel agents and the loss of thousands of jobs in the United Kingdom travel business; and, therefore, calls for the Office of Fair Trading to recommend that the President of the Board of Trade refer the bid to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.

This motion has been signed by a total of 11 MPs.