Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

SLOVAKIA | MONIKA JURČOVÁ 1151 4. QUESTIONS PERTAINING TO THE “FLEXIBLE AND DYNAMIC DEFINITION” OF THE CONCLUSION OF THE PACKAGE TRAVEL CONTRACT AND OF THE PACKAGE TRAVEL Identifying the entity of a traveller as a party of a package travel contract is not a problem of the new legal regulation. It is rather necessary to be opened to the possibilities of the new legal regulation related to solving the question of who is the other party to the contractual relation of the package travel contract, i.e. the person responsible for providing the package travel, the organiser. The Act is strict in determining that such a person may only be a tour operator (Sec. 5 Art. 3 (a), (b)), but flexible as to how the sale of package travel can be made with reference to the legal definition of the package travel contract and the definition of the package travel itself. In this context, an interesting review is provided by McDonald, who on the diversity of combinations available on existing websites a) the website so-called “price comparator” or search engine for the most profitable offer, b) preferentially providing accommodation, c) airline website, d) available only to limited group – website available only to members, or e) website of a tour operator illustrates options of provider’s contractual position in alternatives of tour operator, travel agency or without this contractual status (for example only a provider of single travel service) 34 . The package travel contract, if the package travel is provided under separate contracts on the provision of tourist services, consists of all contracts that apply to tourist services during the package travel. The provider of package travel as a package may only be a tour operator that will not be the same as the service providers in all the contracts that constitute the package travel. By signing separate contracts, travellers enter into contractual relations with both the tour operator and the providers of individual services. If we consider the alternative definitions of the package travel according to Sec. 3 Art. 1 (b) of the Package Travel Act, where package travel is a combination of at least two different travel services, regardless of whether separate contracts are concluded with individual providers of travel services, we find that there are 34 McDonald, M. “Linked travel arrangements and their protection under the New Travel Package Directive”. In The New Package Travel Directive , Estoril: ESHTE, 2017, ISBN 978-989-99955-0-5, p. 89-90.