Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

ARTICLE 1 | F. JAVIER MELGOSA ARCOS 67 illicit advertising campaign under national competition Law and by which the principal contractor pays, if he is traveling alone, the airport charges, as well as the single room supplement; or, if he is accompanied by at least one person paying the full price, only the airport charges” (ECJS 15 June 1999, Case C-140/97), and also trips organized by an agency, “upon request and on the initiative of the consumer or of a limited group of consumers according to their requests, including the transport and the accommodation in a tourist establishment according to an global price and having a stay exceeding 24 hours or including overnight staying” , these are included in the scope of art. 2.1 of the Directive. The term ‘pre-arranged combination’ can be interpreted in reference to the moment when the contract between the agency and the client is concluded (ECJS April 30, 2002 Case C-400/00 Club Tour, Viagens e Turismo SA, against AC Lobo Gonçalves). The ECJ considered that, in those cases, the main purpose of the Directive is to protect consumers who buy package holidays. It should be clarified that package travel are constituted by travel services that are combined after the conclusion of a contract by which an entrepreneur allows a traveller to choose from a selection of different types of travel services, such as a ‘gift box’ for a package. In addition, a combination of travel services must be considered a package when the name, payment details and email address of the traveller are transferred between entrepreneurs and, when another contract is concluded no later than 24 hours after the first travel service reservation was confirmed. Moreover, linked travel arrangements should be distinguished from travel services that are booked on their own, often at different times, although they would be intended for the same trip or vacation. Linked travel arrangements should also be distinguished from web sites accessed through a link whose purpose is not the conclusion of a contract with the traveller, and from the links whereby travellers are simply reported on other travel services in general, for example when a hotel or organizer of an event includes on their website a list of all entrepreneurs who provide transportation services to the establishment regardless of any reservation or if ‘cookies’ or metadata are used to insert advertising on websites (Recitals 11 and 12 of Directive 2015). Only the combination of different types of travel services, such as accommodation, transport of passengers by bus, train, boat or plane, as well as renting motor vehicles or certain motorcycles, must be taken into account for purposes of determining whether it is a package or they are linked travel arrangements. The accommodation for residential purposes, including accommodation for long-term language courses, should not be considered accommodation for the purposes of this Directive.There should not be considered