Leading travel company Kuoni has apologised to a customer after he complained about its policy of not offering holidays in Israel.

The customer, who did not wished to be named, claimed that he had made a phone inquiry about booking a holiday and was told by a Kuoni employee that the company did not sell trips to Israel because it was worried about how surrounding Arab nations would react.

The customer subsequently complained, claiming that the policy was discriminatory.

Kuoni, which markets luxury holidays to 85 countries, including Jordan, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, responded by emailing the customer, to “sincerely apologise”.

Helen Roberts, head of direct sales, wrote that she was “disappointed to hear of the experience you had when booking your trip to Israel.

“Please accept my apologies for the way that your inquiry was handled.”

She explained that Kuoni excluded Israel as a travel destination “purely because of the market potential opportunities”, and not because of any discrimination.

She added: “Kirker Holidays, a Kuoni- owned company, feature Israel. Kuoni Travel Ltd are also planning to feature an optional Jerusalem excursion in conjunction with our Jordan touring brochure
in 2014.”