Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

684 COLLECTIVE COMMENTARY ABOUT THE NEW PACKAGE TRAVEL DIRECTIVE Discussions with the Economic Inspection of the Federal Public Service Economy confirmed that the standard information form only needs to be submitted in the pre-contractual phase. 28. General issue with the various standard information forms 22 – The standard information form is primarily intended to inform travellers as to whether a package travel or linked travel arrangement is being booked, and which rights they can call upon as a result thereof. However, the descriptions of a package travel and linked travel arrangement in the newTravel Law and inDirective 2015/2302/EU are not clearly formulated, resulting in different interpretations and consequently legal uncertainty. The use of the standard information form in the pre-contractual phase throws up significant questions. Is it clear to the organiser and retailer of a package travel (if the package travel is being sold via a retailer), during the pre-contractual phase, what are the traveller’s exact intentions and requirements concerning their purchase? To what extent does the traveller know for sure that, at the time of the initial contact, with the point of sale, they want to purchase a package travel, a linked travel arrangement or an individual travel service? Finding answers to these questions is vital because they are deciding factors when it comes to providing travellers with the correct standard information form (or none at all with the sale of an individual travel service). Another potential question is: does the traveller really want to be swamped with information before entering into a package travel contract? 29. Transfer of the package travel contract by the traveller 23 – The traveller is entitled to transfer the package travel contract to another person before the holiday’s beginning, providing that this individual complies with all terms and conditions applicable to the agreement. This entitlement is described in Articles 16 to 18 of the new Travel Law. Article 16 of the new Travel Law stipulates that the organiser’s approval is not required for this kind of contract transfer. Neither does the traveller have to provide reasons for the transfer. What is remarkable, in this respect, is that the new Travel Law deviates from general contract law, in that a contract transfer 22 P. NELISSEN GRADE and I. MEYERS, De Reiswet (The Travel Law) 21 November 2017 , Mechelen, Wolters Kluwer, 2019, 32. 23 P. NELISSEN GRADE and I. MEYERS, De Reiswet (The Travel Law) 21 November 2017 , Mechelen, Wolters Kluwer, 2019, 47.