Compensation Paid After Samui Holiday Rained Out

A couple is reimbursed 20,000 kronor because of bad weather while on holiday in Thailand.

“It is good to ARN (The Swedish Consumer Watchdog) exist and can make an impartial judgement”, the disappointed tourists said to The Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter.

The couple had complained to ARN about the poor service they had received from ‘Select Travel,’ as their trip to Bhutan and Thailand had failed to meet their expectations.

The couple’s holiday took place in October of 2007, when they travelled first to Bangkok and then on to Bhutan. Afterwards, they wanted to spend time in a sunny location by the sea.

’Select Travel’ booked them into a hotel on Koh Samui. By the time they arrived, the rainy season had been underway for over a week. Streets were flooded and the door at the front of the hotel had a row of sandbags in front of it. They were told by hotel staff that the weather forecast was for another five days of rain and wind.

“It is good that the matter is solved. Now we know that we have a responsibility for how the weather is. This means that we will be very careful when we talk about the weather with the customer,” said the CEO of Select Travel, Leija Graf.

The travel company, which organises exclusive holidays, will now be referring their customers to an online weather site, where they can research the weather conditions at their holiday destination.