The European Parliament has adopted changes to the Package Travel Directive aimed at simplifying procedures, shortening refund times, and strengthening protection for customers of travel agencies. The new rules will also cover trips purchased online and introduce protection mechanisms in the event of a tour operator’s insolvency. Member states will have more than two years to implement the new provisions into national law.
“I am very pleased that the European Union has addressed the issue of protecting travellers who use travel agencies, especially those who buy packages online. The European Parliament has adopted rules that simplify the entire bureaucracy, shorten the time it takes for travellers to recover their money, clearly define what constitutes a travel package and what does not, and create a special pool of funds at the European level. If a travel agency collapses, a consumer who was unable to use a paid trip or holiday package will be able to apply for compensation from that fund,” Elżbieta Łukacijewska, a Member of the European Parliament from Poland’s Civic Coalition, said in an interview with Newseria.
The reference is to the update of the Package Travel Directive adopted in mid-March. At present, customers can cancel their travel plans without paying cancellation fees or penalties if unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances occur at the travel destination. The revised rules are set to extend this protection to events not only at the destination itself, but also to circumstances that may have a significant impact on the trip.
Organisers will be required to acknowledge receipt of complaints within seven days, while the deadline for providing a reasoned response will be 60 days. If an organiser becomes insolvent, customers will have to receive reimbursement for cancelled services from insolvency protection within six months, or within nine months in particularly complex insolvency cases.
“Everyone is aware that travel agencies went through a very difficult period after the pandemic. Now there will be less bureaucracy, and thanks to the mandatory contribution to the insolvency fund they will be able to operate with greater peace of mind and less stress. Care for customers and travellers using their services should always be a priority, but that is exactly what this insurance mechanism is meant to ensure. We had such a situation in Poland and we know what all those people who used the services of that agency went through. Thanks to these rules, situations like that should no longer happen. Travellers will be compensated for the costs they have incurred, including the cost of returning home,” the MEP assures.
In 2010, several Polish travel agencies declared bankruptcy — first Kopernik Travel, then Selectours Travel. In both cases, more than 3,000 tourists who were abroad when the bankruptcies were announced had to be brought back to Poland. Also in 2010, Orbis Travel went bankrupt. At the time, repatriation to Poland and customer claims were covered and paid out by the insurer up to the amount guaranteed under the insurance policy.
The amendment adopted by the European Parliament introduces even more consumer protection mechanisms. The new rules are intended, among other things, to make it easier to determine which combinations of travel services qualify as a package. The decisive factors are primarily the timing and method of booking the combination of services. If an organiser proposes the booking of additional services, the customer must be informed if those services would not form part of the package.
“A package holiday means that we are buying the whole service — from the flight to the excursion itself — but a hotel can also be included in the package, because travel agencies often offer that as well. If they do not specify clearly whether the hotel is separate or part of the package, then it automatically counts as part of the package,” Elżbieta Łukacijewska explains.
After the rules are formally adopted by the Council of the European Union, member states will have 28 months to transpose them into national law, followed by another six months before they start applying them.
According to data from the TravelData Institute for Travel Market Research, the Polish tour operator market has already recovered from the pandemic slump. In 2020, the revenues of the 25 largest companies in the market amounted to less than PLN 2.8 billion. In 2022, they exceeded PLN 12 billion — around PLN 2 billion more than in the last pre-pandemic year, which had recorded the highest turnover since 2010, with a similar number of customers.
