Holidays, travel and motoring

Helpful guidance on the advertising rules for ads about Holidays, Travel or Motoring, and examples of previous Advertising Standards Authority rulings in these areas.

When it comes to buying a holiday or a car, there is an array of consumer choice. There are dozens of comparative websites out there to make the decision easier but it is important consumers can trust all holiday, travel and motoring ads they see not least because their purchasing decisions can often be expensive ones.

Holiday and travel ads should ensure they don’t mislead consumers and should contain all non-optional taxes, duties, fees and charges that apply to most buyers in their quoted price. Holiday advertisers should ensure that their descriptions are accurate and the photos which they feature in their ads are representative of what’s being offered. They should also ensure they have evidence to back up any comparative claims they are making in their ads and proof of availability of an offer.

Motoring ads must also make sure they don’t mislead consumers but another important part of the advertising rules they must adhere to are those around social responsibility.

Adverts for cars must not condone or encourage unsafe or irresponsible driving, such as not wearing a seatbelt, or depict speed in a way that might encourage motorists to drive irresponsibly or break the law. Car ads are permitted to give general information about a vehicle's performance such as acceleration, braking power, road holding and top speed, but they cannot make speed or acceleration claims the main message of their ads or link speed with excitement.

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Latest rulings

Eurostar International Ltd
- Upheld
- 06 November 2024
A paid for Instagram post and a post on Eurostar’s Facebook page exaggerated the number of tickets available at a certain price and omitted material information about the dates tickets were available for.
Trav Expert Ltd t/a Travelcrew
- Upheld
- 16 October 2024
Prices on a website for a retailer of flights and holidays were misleading because the advertiser did not hold evidence to show they were genuine and included all non-optional taxes, duties, fees and charges that applied to all or most buyers or that they were subject to change and that availability was limited.
Sunspot Tours Ltd t/a Mercury Holidays
- Upheld
- National newspaper (ad feature)
- 02 October 2024
A national press ad for a package holiday misleadingly described a holiday as including a "free" week.
Mazda Motors UK Ltd
- Upheld
- Social media (paid ad)
- 25 September 2024
A paid-for Meta ad for the Mazda2 Hybrid car gave a misleading impression of the vehicle’s environment impact and made absolute claims that couldn’t be evidenced.

View all rulings

Holidays, travel and motoring

Helpful guidance on the advertising rules for ads about Holidays, Travel or Motoring, and examples of previous Advertising Standards Authority rulings in these areas.

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Latest rulings

Eurostar International Ltd

Trav Expert Ltd t/a Travelcrew

Sunspot Tours Ltd t/a Mercury Holidays

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Relevant codes

19 Motoring

20 Motoring