Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

NETHERLANDS | NICK DE LEEUW | JUDITH TERSTEEG | FRANK RADSTAKE 1055 shopping basket method, when all travel services are paid through one payment, and a package agreement will be concluded. This will likely result in a linked travel arrangement, but not necessarily. After all, there must be a commercial relationship between trader 1 and 2, and trader 1 must have facilitated the purchase of the second service “in a targeted manner”. Merely an advertisement on Google does not result in such a relationship. The Explanatory Memorandum states in this respect that a “search engine” cannot be considered a trader facilitating linked travel arrangements 32 . The facilitation must take place in a targeted manner. Neither the Explanatory Notes nor the Directive make it clear when this is actually the case. However, the distinction is difficult to make for a traveller. The first trader in the chain of the linked travel arrangement must provide (financial) security, but only insofar as the booked travel service cannot be provided due to his financial incapacity, and provided that he has actually received the payment. This obligation does not exist if the traveller pays the hotel or ticket directly. In practice, it is relevant that the traders make clear agreements on the exchange of information, after all, how does the first trader learn that a traveller has, for example, booked a hotel room on his website, and later booked another travel service for the same trip from another trader, and a linked travel arrangement has occurred? We should like to refer to the highly interesting comments on the scope of the linked travel arrangement in the article of the ETTSA (European Technology and Travel Services Association) from June 2018 “Industry Guidance EU Package Travel Directive”, which sets out the ambiguities of this scheme in a very convincing and clear manner. 5. INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS Obviously, travellers must be informed properly about the goods and services they purchase or intend to purchase, but we believe that the information requirement for packages 33 has gone too far and there is a risk that it extends 32 EM page 2 to Article 7:500 DCC section “E linked travel arrangement ii” under the heading “no linked travel arrangement”. 33 Article 7:502 DCC and the mandatory standard information as prescribed in Annex I, section A or Section B of the Directive.