WIREDGOV

As the summer season kicks off, the European Commission is taking action to improve protection for holiday makers by modernising EU rules on package holidays.

The 1990 EU Directive on package travel has served as the bedrock for the protection offered to EU holidaymakers. It guarantees comprehensive protection to consumers booking pre-arranged package holidays which involve combinations of, for example, flights, hotels, or car rentals. The protection includes the right to receive all necessary information before signing the contract, making sure that a party is liable for the performance of all services in the package and the reassurance of repatriation in case a tour operator goes bust (see Box 1 in the Annex).

The reform responds to a fundamental transformation of the travel market: Citizens are increasingly taking a more active role in tailoring their holidays to their specific requirements, notably by using the internet to combine travel arrangements rather than choosing from ready-made packages out of a brochure (see Graphic 1 in the Annex).

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