While many of us dream of an idyllic summer holiday in the perfect spot, the reality can be harshly different, new figures show.
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For the month of January, there were 110 complaints to the NSW Office of Fair Trading, a 10 per cent rise on the same period last year.
The most common complaints were about flight cancellations, misrepresentations about hotel accommodation and getting refunds.
But the good news was more than 90 per cent of complaints were resolved successfully.
One family travelling on a cruise ship without nursery facilities, which it had been advertised as having, successfully obtained a refund by lodging a complaint with NSW Fair Trading from New Zealand.
Total travel complaints were down for 2014, from 1448 to 1340.
Fair Trading Minister Matthew Mason-Cox said consumers should read the fine print when making any travel bookings.
"With the travel industry now more competitive than ever, we are urging consumers to take that little extra time to read and understand the terms and conditions, so they know exactly what they are buying," Mr Mason-Cox said.
"Always check that the travel agent is accredited, for example, under the AFTA Travel Accreditation Scheme [ATAS]."
Travel agents were deregulated in July last year in an effort to remove red tape and make local agencies more competitive with international online agencies such as Expedia.
Instead of paying money into an insolvency fund, agents now become accredited by The Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA).
Travel analyst Chetan Kapoor said Australians had been at the forefront of using online travel services, but the country also had a very strong culture of retail agents in shopping centres.
"Australia already is one of the most mature online travel markets not only in Asia Pacific but even worldwide. Its online travel penetration already exceeds 40 per cent."