Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

1108 COLLECTIVE COMMENTARY ABOUT THE NEW PACKAGE TRAVEL DIRECTIVE responding for the operator until the limit of their capabilities. When they crash, travellers are left to fend for themselves, no one arranges for their repatriation, and they must claim the refund of the money they spent to a manifestly insufficient fund. 9. THE UNLAWFUL EXCLUSION OF BUSINESS TRAVEL: NUMEROUS TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS AND NOT A SIMPLE PLURALITY OF ARRANGEMENTS In the previous Law of Portuguese travel agencies (approved by DecreeLaw No. 61/2011, of 6 May, abbreviated as LAVT 2011), professional travel or business travel was excluded from the public financial guarantee (designated FGVT) in case of default or insolvency of the organiser or the retailer. In effect, the public guarantee fund (FGVT) replied with “solidarity for the payment of consumer credits arising from the failure to provide services contracted to travel and tourism agencies” (Art. 31/1 LAVT 2011). In the same sense, paragraph 2 indicates the following: “The values that make up the FGVT are jointly liable for consumer credits for services contracted with travel and tourism agencies, in the maximum global amount, for each calendar year, of 1,000,000 €, and satisfy: a) The reimbursement of the amounts delivered by customers; b) The reimbursement of additional expenses incurred by customers as a result of the non-provision of services or inadequate provision”. Article 33/1 follows the same lines: “ Consumers interested in obtaining the satisfaction of the credits, resulting from the breach of contracts concluded with travel and tourism agencies, can contact the FGVT, and should request it from Turismo de Portugal, I.P.”. However, the NPTD has imposed a substantial amendment, considerably extending the scope of protected persons. Until the NPTD, consumers were the only ones contemplated, but since then, professional or business travellers are also covered by the new European framework, excluding only managed business travel.