diff --git a/.github/workflows/validate-travis-run-tests.yml b/.github/workflows/validate-travis-run-tests.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..82f61400
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/validate-travis-run-tests.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+name: Validate Travis RUN_TESTS
+
+on:
+  pull_request:
+    paths:
+      - '.travis.yml'
+      - '.github/workflows/validate-travis-run-tests.yml'
+      - 'scripts/validate-travis-run-tests.sh'
+  push:
+    branches:
+      - fix/bounty-95-run-tests
+    paths:
+      - '.travis.yml'
+      - '.github/workflows/validate-travis-run-tests.yml'
+      - 'scripts/validate-travis-run-tests.sh'
+
+jobs:
+  validate:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - run: chmod +x scripts/validate-travis-run-tests.sh
+      - run: ./scripts/validate-travis-run-tests.sh
diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index 9e39083a..94282a2a 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ matrix:
             - llvm-toolchain-precise-3.7
             - boost-latest
       env:
-        - RUN_TEST=false
+        - RUN_TESTS=false
         - OPENCL_LIB=khronos-icd
         - OPENCL_VERSION="12"
         - ENV_CMAKE_OPTIONS="-DOpenCL_LIBRARY=${OPENCL_ROOT}/lib/libOpenCL.so -DOpenCL_INCLUDE_DIR=${OPENCL_ROOT}/include"
@@ -184,7 +184,7 @@ matrix:
           packages: *precise_icd_packages
           sources: *precise_icd_sources
       env:
-        - RUN_TEST=false
+        - RUN_TESTS=false
         - OPENCL_LIB=khronos-icd
         - OPENCL_VERSION="12"
         - ENV_CMAKE_OPTIONS="-DOpenCL_LIBRARY=${OPENCL_ROOT}/lib/libOpenCL.so -DOpenCL_INCLUDE_DIR=${OPENCL_ROOT}/include"
@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ matrix:
           packages: *precise_icd_packages
           sources: *precise_icd_sources
       env:
-        - RUN_TEST=false
+        - RUN_TESTS=false
         - OPENCL_LIB=khronos-icd
         - OPENCL_VERSION="20"
         - ENV_CMAKE_OPTIONS="-DOpenCL_LIBRARY=${OPENCL_ROOT}/lib/libOpenCL.so -DOpenCL_INCLUDE_DIR=${OPENCL_ROOT}/include"
@@ -210,7 +210,7 @@ matrix:
           packages: *precise_icd_packages
           sources: *precise_icd_sources
       env:
-        - RUN_TEST=false
+        - RUN_TESTS=false
         - OPENCL_LIB=khronos-icd
         - OPENCL_VERSION="20"
         - ENV_CMAKE_OPTIONS="-DOpenCL_LIBRARY=${OPENCL_ROOT}/lib/libOpenCL.so -DOpenCL_INCLUDE_DIR=${OPENCL_ROOT}/include"
@@ -316,6 +316,14 @@ install:
         popd
       fi
 
+script:
+  - |
+    if [[ "${RUN_TESTS}" == "true" ]]; then
+      mvn test
+    else
+      mvn -DskipTests package
+    fi
+
 after_success:
   - bash <(curl -s https://codecov.io/bash)
   - mvn site
diff --git a/scripts/validate-travis-run-tests.sh b/scripts/validate-travis-run-tests.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..a2cd65f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/validate-travis-run-tests.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Validates RUN_TESTS / script section for Travis (issue #95).
+set -euo pipefail
+
+root="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
+cd "$root"
+
+echo "==> YAML parse"
+ruby -e 'require "yaml"; YAML.load_file(".travis.yml"); puts "yaml ok"'
+
+echo "==> global RUN_TESTS default"
+grep -q 'RUN_TESTS=true' .travis.yml
+
+echo "==> matrix uses RUN_TESTS (not RUN_TEST typo)"
+if grep -q 'RUN_TEST=false' .travis.yml; then
+  echo "FAIL: found RUN_TEST=false typo; use RUN_TESTS=false"
+  exit 1
+fi
+grep -q 'RUN_TESTS=false' .travis.yml
+
+echo "==> script section gates mvn test"
+grep -q '^script:' .travis.yml
+grep -q 'RUN_TESTS' .travis.yml
+grep -q 'mvn test' .travis.yml
+grep -q 'skipTests' .travis.yml
+
+echo "All checks passed."