Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

ARTICLE 17 | PATRICIA BENAVIDES VELASCO 391 must look at this terminological issue being considered by the European legislator. The abovementioned Directive 90/314/EEC considers the buyer of a travel package as a consumer. In fact, article 2 (4) defines it by considering that ‘consumer’ means 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’). In the current Directive this concept of “consumer” has been replaced by the one of “traveller”. The reasons for this change are given by Recital 7 of the Directive. After considering that the majority of travellers buying packages or linked travel arrangements are consumers within the meaning of Union consumer law, the recital states that such buyers don’t always match the concept of consumer. This is the case of the difficult distinction between consumers and representatives of small businesses or professionals who book trips related to their business or profession through the same booking channels as consumers. The recital concludes that these professionals often require a similar level of protection. The inclusion of the word traveller broadens the subjective scope of the regulation, as this concept also covers those who travel for professional reasons 20 . Nevertheless, companies or organizations that make travel arrangements on the basis of a general agreement, often concluded for numerous travel arrangements for a specified period, remain outside the scope of protection provided by the Directive. The European Parliament and the Council have considered that this type of travel arrangements does not require the level of protection designed for consumers. As a result of this, the Directive only covers those small businesses, professionals, freelance workers or any other individuals as far as they do not organize their travels on the basis of a general agreement. Personally, I think that this broadening of the protection conferred by the European regulation and its extension to other collectives, which are different from consumers, is adequate. The notion of traveller has solved some interpretative problems about who we should consider a consumer, as the 20 We already considered this in BENAVIDES VELASCO, P., (2018), “La obligación de las agencias de viaje de prestar las garantías contempladas en la Directiva de viajes combinados”, International Journal of Scientific Management and Tourism , Vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 107-108.