Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

ARTICLE 3 | VINCENZO FRANCESCHELLI AND CARLOS TORRES 125 We will see how these changes will be implemented in the various national laws, because the evolution of the terminology may determine an evolution in the substance in the process of unification of the rules. Moreover, it is not only a question of form but also a question of substance: the regulation of travel contract goes beyond the “causa turismi” that characterises tourist contract, at least regarding the Directive. A second remark pertains to the modification of the definition of the package itself. 4.9. Definition (6) – Traveller The sixth definition of the 2015/2302 Directive pertains to the traveller, meaning “any person who is seeking to conclude a contract, or is entitled to travel on the basis of a contract concluded, within the scope of this Directive”. In the 1990 Directive, there was no ‘traveller’, being ‘consumer’ the equivalent definition, defining him as “the person who takes or agrees to take the package (‘the principal contractor’), or any person on whose behalf the principal contractor agrees to purchase the package (‘the other beneficiaries’) or any person to whom the principal contractor or any of the other beneficiaries transfers the package (‘the transferee’)”. Consequently, a traveller is a tourist, and while every tourist travels, not all travellers are tourists. As we have noticed before, the terms ‘consumer’, ‘tourist’ and ‘traveller’ are now unified, with the ‘traveller’ indicating the status and the protection of the persons involved in a travel contract. 4.9.1. From consumers to travellers While so far only consumers were contemplated, from now on people travelling for business or professional reasons are also covered by the newEuropean framework, simply excluding managed business travel . This means that a significant expansion of the categories of people protected by the new European legislation took place: while the 1990 Directive still in effect mentions consumers, the new one alludes to travellers, in order to cover a larger group of people. The European legislator considers that, although most people purchasing package holidays or linked travel arrangements are generally consumers, as stipulated in the European legislation, there is a significant pool of consumers and representatives of small businesses or professionals who book trips related to their professional or business activity, while using the same channels. This way, entrepreneurs and professionals,