The European Parliament adopted a revision of the Package Travel Directive
At the plenary session in Brussels European Parliament [He/She/They] supported the revision proposal Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Directive. This regulation, first adopted in 2015, showed a number of shortcomings during the collapse of Thomas Cook and the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly regarding refunds and liability within the chain of service providers.
Key changes in the Directive
The aim of the amendments is to ensure greater passenger protection, but also to distribute the burden of responsibility more evenly between tour operators, agents, and suppliers. The most important changes are:
- clear refund timelines to passengers,
- right of choice between money and vouchers, whereby vouchers must be secured in case of insolvency,
- extended definition of a package deal to cover a wider range of services,
- mandatory complaint resolution mechanism Tour operator code.
ECTAA's views and concerns
The adopted proposal was responded to European Travel Agents' and Tour Operators' Associations (ECTAA). Although they welcome efforts for stronger consumer protection, they warn of several challenges:
- Risk of market fragmentation – since Member States are left to adopt national regulations on advance payments, tour operators could be at a disadvantage depending on the country in which they operate.
- Vague definition of package travel – new rules on services booked within 24 hours could create legal uncertainty, blur the line between package and individual services, and complicate pricing.
- Insufficient harmonisation – ECTAA believes that insufficient work has been done on alignment with other legislative frameworks, particularly concerning refunds and insolvency protection.
Next steps
The revision of the Directive is now entering the phase informal discussions between the European Parliament, the Council of the EU, and the European Commission, where a compromise on the final text will be reached. The aim is to adopt legislation that will provide clear rules, better passenger protection, and fairer conditions for travel organisers.
The full statement from ECTAA is available at official websites Organisations
