Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

Laurence Jégouzo 1 Article 18 of the Presidential Decree of 20 December 2017 on Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements; I. The European Commission Wanted to Strengthen the Traveller’s Protection; II. A Difficult Implementation of Article 18 of the European Directive. ARTICLE 18 OF THE PRESIDENTIAL DECREE OF 20DECEMBER 2017 ON PACKAGE TRAVEL AND LINKED TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS Directive (EU) 2015/2302 of 25 November 2015 2 , which is applicable in France since the 1 July 2018 as this was implemented by the Presidential Decree of the 20th December 2017 3 and the Presidential Decree of the 29th December 2017 4 , has many implications in tourism law. New market players enter the field of registration (including some Internet players). The reasons for the existence of this Directive were recalled: in 2011, 73% of EU households had access to the internet 5 . Almost two-thirds of EU citizens use the Internet at least once a week, more than half of them every day or almost every day. Travel services are among the most popular products purchased online. The development of online sales and the liberalisation in the airline sector have changed the way in which consumers organise their holidays, having led to different ways in which traders assist consumers in customising combinations of travel services, in particular online. However, in many Member States it was not clear whether these combinations fell under the scope of the Directive and whether traders involved in putting together such combinations were liable for the proper performance of the relevant services, especially in the online environment. At this point, we must remember the growing empowerment of travellers: 70% of trips are purchased from providers. This resulted in the insecurity for 1 Lecturer at University of Paris I, Panthéon-Sorbonne. Assistant Director of the Sorbonne Law School. Attorney at Law. 2 Directive (EU) 2015/2302 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on package travel and linked travel arrangements, amending Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 and Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directive 90/314/EEC (OJ L 326, 11.12.2015, p. 1–33). 3 Presidential Decree n° 2017 – 1717 of December 20, 2017, OJ of December 21. 4 Decree n° 2017 – 1871 of December 29, 2017, OJ of December 31. 5 Jégouzo, Laurence, Le droit du tourisme , Éditions Lextenso, 2 ème édition, Paris, 2018;˙ Jégouzo, Laurence, dossier la directive ‘travel’ made in France, JT 2018, n o 212.