No one can deny that booking a holiday has moved on from the days when it meant spending a Saturday afternoon at the travel agency flicking through brochures. There are now many more online options and, in addition to traditional package holidays, consumers are able to customise their own holidays consisting of several different services.
The report we have just adopted aims to update the legislation in line with these market developments, create more of a level playing field and make sure consumers and businesses are aware of the level of corresponding protection that different holiday types provide.
Our most important task has been to clearly define 'package' and 'linked travel arrangements' while maintaining the choice of holiday types available to consumers today. A 'linked' travel arrangement aims to capture instances where consumers book a holiday consisting of different services, which is often made via the consumer clicking through various website 'links'. I think we made good progress here – we have clarified the payment processes, set a time limit so that holiday bookings must be completed within a 24 hour timeframe to be covered by this legislation, and we have made progress on defining the data which is transferred in each type of contract. However, [pullquote]I think we still have work to do to improve the definitions on data transfer to ensure consumers receive the level of protection they expect and to reduce potential grey areas[/pullquote].
I have been keen to focus our work on the types of services this legislation intends to cover, such as flights and hotels, rather than trips lasting less than 24 hours – spa trips, business travel and domestic train journeys – as it is clear that there are other provisions for these types of services in place.
I am pleased that my amendments to enhance consumer information have been adopted – they will ensure the consumers are informed of the type of holiday they are booking and the level of protection provided. Consumers will also be informed if the holiday they are booking is not covered by this legislation so that they can decide whether to go ahead before making a payment.
My amendments to delete requirements for printed brochures were also adopted. Deleting these requirements was crucial as brochures are a great expense to businesses and do not reflect the online market, where information is frequently updated.
Looking ahead, I think we will need to work on honing the definitions of 'significant' ancillary services that could be included in a package. I am glad we have stressed the role of marketing in providing this information to consumers but I had hoped to see a figure higher than 25 per cent and I would like to see some progress on this issue.
I am also more sceptical than many of my colleagues about the additional passenger rights requirements proposed, which are not in line with existing passenger rights legislation. I think that ultimately these additional costs will be passed on to the consumer, so this must always be borne in mind.
While it is clear there will be improvements to be made during negotiations with the European council on some of the issues I have outlined, I think we have made a lot of progress in a short space of time and we have agreed on some good compromises ahead of the plenary vote.
I look forward to telling consumers and businesses about the improvements we have made while avoiding impacting on the offers open to them.