Talks were recently held in the European parliament's internal market committee regarding a proposal to amend the directive on package travel and assisted travel arrangements. The transport and tourism committee and the legal affairs committee also issued statements, both of which I was involved in.
New services provided by airlines and the growing importance of online sales have resulted in cheap airfares for all. Due to these changes, the tourism market and customer behaviour continued to evolve – at a very rapid pace in the case of tourism. Therefore it was necessary to amend the package travel directive, adopted in 1990, and adapt it to the present day.
Nowadays, customers tend to organise their own holidays, purchasing packages but also combining them with other travel arrangements. However, clear lines need to be defined by politicians. As confirmed by consumer protection bodies, there are a number of dubious offers online which are difficult to distinguish from those of more reputable sites. Small and medium sized businesses in the travel industry must also have terms and conditions similar to those of online portals. As a result of this, consumer protection must be extended to the online market.
Making a distinction between normal package travel and linked arrangements and combining independent services is particularly difficult for consumers when browsing the internet. Naturally there are differences in how far consumer protection can go.
[pullquote]The aim of this directive is to ensure that all consumers benefit from a high level of protection when purchasing a combination of travel services, irrespective of the distribution channel[/pullquote]. Obviously, it is also necessary to ensure the costs involved in complying with new regulations will be reasonable for new players falling under the revised scope of the directive. Travellers are to be better informed about the travel products they are buying and granted access to clearer and more effective remedies if something goes wrong.
The directive complements legislation from various different sectors – from private international law to marketing, online trade and transport – in which new developments are expected, for example, changes to the rights of passengers.
Therefore, from a legal perspective, the scope is extremely important. This sector evolves very rapidly and so steps must be taken to ensure that the directive does not quickly become outdated and that loopholes cannot be exploited.
Above all, this requires a clear definition of the term 'package travel' and a clear distinction between this and 'linked travel arrangements' as legal obligations vary widely between the two.
In future, tour operators will be able to make changes to package deals. However, consumers will reserve the right to terminate their contracts. Some provisions, for example, the right to compensation and extending the obligation to continue the effective running of travel services in the event of insolvency, have already been raised in the statement issued by the transport committee and are also supported by the legal committee.
For the directive to be implemented, member states will have to ensure that national insolvency protection schemes are effective and that travellers are refunded their money immediately. Implementing the directive will demonstrate whether we have managed to restore more legal security for consumers and providers and prevent disreputable products and services from being offered in future. After all, to ensure good consumer protection, holidays really do need to be the best time of the year.