ABTA launches new Health & Safety database

ABTA has teamed up with Argent Health and Safety, part of the Parabis Group, to launch a comprehensive new health and safety database, the ABTA Resort Check or “ARC”.

The online database, offered and operated by Argent, holds health and safety reports for 20,000 properties thoroughly audited by Argent, both in the UK and abroad. The database is expected to increase to include up to 30,000 properties in the future.

ARC will help ABTA members check that the hotels in their portfolio offer high standards and minimal risks to their customers.

The database, which can be used by both ABTA tour operators and travel agents, will achieve consistency in the standards of practice across the UK based travel industry, will get rid of the duplication of effort that is occurring at the moment, and as a result will reduce costs.

Keith Richards ABTA Head of Business Development said: “ABTA members want to ensure that their customers holiday in safety, whether they buy packages or single elements. Introducing an industry-wide source of good quality health, safety and risk assessment auditing will reduce costs and duplication of effort and also offer the due diligence on health and safety issues which underpin the quality service ABTA stands for.”

Key features of the Argent service include access to:

• Physical audit report, completed every three years
• Self-certification completed in intervening years
• Topline and individual health and safety ratings
• Downloadable reports
• Online training and support to hoteliers

Tim Oliver, Managing Partner of The Parabis Group said:

“We are very excited about working with ABTA in such an innovative fashion and I am confident that ARC will shape the future direction of health and safety management for the travel industry. Our revolutionary service will deliver immediate time and cost-saving benefits to ABTA members and we believe that we can achieve even greater cost savings and efficiencies for the travel industry in the future.”