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BackMore and more consumers are booking their summer holidays or city tours online. Until now, people who used this method to combine their travel arrangements, enjoyed less protection than those, who went down the classic route and signed their contract in a traditional travel agency. The Directive, which now has been adopted, has harmonised protective measures. Hereinafter, some points from the Directive have been listed, which have to be implemented by the EU Member States within the next two years:
· The extension of liability and information obligations of tour operators stipulates that holiday makers have to be provided with detailed information as to who is responsible should problems occur during the trip.
· In case of exceptional circumstances (keyword ash cloud), the Directive obliges tour operators to pay the costs for additional overnight stays required for up to 3 nights.
· Free of charge right to cancel if the price of the package rises by more than 8 percent
· The term package travel has been clearly defined. Click-through offers are now also included. In their case, consumer data (for example: name, email address, payment details) are transferred from a travel website to another homepage, where additional tourist services will be booked.
A certain improvement for consumers was definitely achieved in respect of some points. However, it can be assumed that some tour operators will make an attempt to bypass these regulations in order to eliminate the applicability of the Directive contents. For example by not transferring all data when the click-through system is used or by providing for various payment methods. This may be understood as an assignment for consumer protection organisations to closely monitor the approach by providers and to expose transactions for the purpose of evading the law.
Further information:
Press release by the European Parliament