Food poisoning mars travel convention

We are often warned that biting the hand that feeds us is not a good idea but neither is poisoning the top brass of your industry, as a hotelier in Marbella found out earlier this week.

After a farewell dinner thrown by the Spanish tourist board at the Association of British Travel Agents' (ABTA) convention, a number of members fell ill with stomach upsets.

The victims, who included travel chiefs from Cosmos, Air Miles and Complete Cruise Solution, were struck down for 24 hours and are unlikely to look favourably on red-faced Spanish chefs in the future.

"The tourist board pays for it and chooses caterers," an ABTA spokesperson said.

"It is difficult for us to tell them what they should be serving or to bring in a food hygiene officer."

John Drogan, commercial director of Air Miles, was less than impressed with his sojourn to the south of Spain.

"I thought I'd eaten a dodgy kebab in Puerto Banus. I felt dreadful but it was only when I got back to the UK that I discovered others had been affected."

He added: "The pork looked less well cooked that I would have liked it to have been."