Travel brands sanctioned over misleading 'eco' advertising claims

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled against several travel brands, including Thomas Cook, Loveholidays, and DialAFlight, for making environmental claims in advertisements that were not clear or transparent. The crackdown follows the use of the ASA’s AI-powered Active Ad Monitoring system, which proactively identifies potential rule violations in online content.

In the case of Loveholidays, the regulator investigated Google ads promoting properties with “Eco” in their names. The company argued that the term was part of the accommodation’s specific name rather than an independent environmental claim made by the agency.

Thomas Cook was also cited for a Google advertisement mentioning a “Sandos Caracol Eco Resort.” The company stated that the phrase was automatically generated by Google’s Performance Max or Dynamic Search Ads tools in response to consumer search terms. Thomas Cook has since blocked the specific search term to prevent the phrase from appearing in future advertisements. The ASA determined that such terms could mislead holidaymakers into believing accommodations possess specific environmental benefits without providing sufficient information to substantiate those claims.