A European consumer protection watchdog found that 235 websites showing "bargain" prices were not giving customers accurate information.

The EU’s Consumer Protection Co-operation said that the initial prices shown to consumers were often much lower than the final price quoted by these sites.

The websites have now been asked to “bring their practices in line” with EU consumer legislation, which requires them to be fully transparent about prices and show their prices in “a clear way” at an early stage of the booking process.

Vera Jourova, commissioner for justice, consumers and gender equality, added: "The internet provides consumers with plenty of information to prepare, compare and book their holidays.

“However, if the reviews on comparison websites are biased or prices are not transparent, these websites are misleading consumers.

“The companies concerned need to respect the European consumer rules, just like a travel agent would. Consumer authorities will now require the websites to solve these issues. Consumers deserve the same protection online as offline."

As part of its investigation, the EU screened 352 price comparison and travel booking websites across the EU in October 2016.