·¬ÇÑÊÓƵ

·¬ÇÑÊÓƵwelcomes progress on the Package Travel Directive but urges fairer rules for coach tourism operators.

Yesterday¡¯s votes by the European Parliament¡¯s Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection on the revised Package Travel Directive mark a constructive step towards modernising the EU¡¯s regulatory framework for package holidays, addressing some concerns, including the removal of rigid down payment caps and improved clarity on extraordinary circumstances.

However, critical issues that could place disproportionate burdens on tourist coach operators persist, particularly SMEs that play a vital role in Europe¡¯s tourism ecosystem but risk being pushed out of the market.

·¬ÇÑÊÓƵEU Advocacy Director Raluca Marian said, ¡°Yesterday¡¯s vote moves the debate forward. But the final rules must better reflect the reality for coach tourism operators.

¡°The proposed reimbursement deadlines are simply unworkable for coach companies. They provide just a small part of the package but risk bearing excessive financial strain.

¡°We urge EU lawmakers to set realistic and consistent reimbursement timelines across passenger rights legislation. Instead of 7 days for operators to refund organisers and 14 days for organisers to refund customers, as in the European Commission¡¯s proposal, it should be 15 days for operators and 30 days for organisers.

¡°This would strike the right balance between protecting travellers and ensuring the survival of SME coach tourism businesses, which risk quickly running out of liquidity.¡±

The revision reflects lessons learnt from the Covid-19 pandemic and aims to strengthen the resilience of the tourism sector and protect both consumers and operators.

·¬ÇÑÊÓƵwelcomes the progress made in updating the Directive, particularly the amendments that respond to the concerns of coach tourism operators. These include:

1. Removing rigid down payment limits: Lifting the proposed 25% cap on down payments, which could have created liquidity challenges for operators, with Member States retaining the flexibility to introduce national measures if needed.
2. Clarifying extraordinary circumstances: Clearer definitions of what constitutes unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances that affect package performance.
3. Recognising official travel warnings: Acknowledgement of the role of formal travel warnings in enabling cancellations before the start of the package.
4. Clarifying package definition: Conditions under which customers can build a package are more practical, removing the proposed unworkable option for customers to add services within 3 or 24 hours of the initial booking.

·¬ÇÑÊÓƵremains concerned about certain provisions that risk undermining the Directive¡¯s objective to ensure clarity, fairness and resilience, including:

1. Unrealistic refund timelines: The proposed reimbursement deadlines are too short and risk creating severe cash flow challenges for coach tourism operators, despite IRU¡¯s call for fairer timelines.
2. Vouchers in crisis scenarios: Vouchers still require traveller acceptance, even during extraordinary circumstances, potentially creating severe liquidity issues for service providers, particularly SMEs, in the event of mass cancellations.
3. Disproportionate penalties: Fines of up to 4% of annual turnover are excessive, especially as package travel accounts for only about 10% of all travel bookings.

·¬ÇÑÊÓƵcalls on EU co-legislators to ensure the final Directive strikes a fair balance between the rights of travellers and the viability of travel and tourism providers.

The file now awaits a plenary vote in the European Parliament.