Advertising rulings have banned ads from three travel firms for making misleading claims about the environmental credentials of their holidays. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) found that consumers were likely to interpret the advertisements from Thomas Cook, loveholidays, and DialAFlight as meaning the accommodations were eco-friendly, without proper substantiation.
Misleading eco terms in ads
The banned advertisements used terms such as “Eco Resort,” “Eco Hotel,” and “eco-conscious resort” without adequately explaining the basis of those environmental claims. A Meta ad for DialAFlight, seen in July for Jumeirah at Saadiyat Island Resort, stated: “Reconnect with yourself and your surroundings at our eco-conscious resort …”.
DialAFlight said the claim had been taken from a factsheet provided by the accommodation, while the hotel supplied the ASA with a list of environmental initiatives and activities undertaken at the resort. Two Google ads for loveholidays, also in July, promoted the “Green Garden Eco Resort” and the “Marvida Family Eco Hotel”.
Firms' responses
The online travel agent explained that, in both cases, the term “Eco” was part of the accommodation’s name rather than an environmental claim formulated, adopted, or endorsed by loveholidays. Thomas Cook said the “Sandos Caracol Eco Resort” changed its name in July 2025, and the travel firm had taken steps to block “Sandos Caracol Eco” as a search term to prevent it appearing in future searches.
ASA ruling and impact
The ASA determined that consumers were likely to interpret the claims as meaning the accommodation had environmental characteristics or benefits, but were not given enough information to understand what those were. ASA director of complaints and investigations Miles Lockwood said: “For people looking to make more environmentally conscious choices when it comes to booking their holidays, it’s important that they can trust the claims that they see in ads.
“Today’s rulings make clear that if a hotel or resort is described as ‘eco’ or ‘eco-conscious’, advertisers need to be clear about what that means, so people have the information they need to make an informed choice about where to book.”
