Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

ESTONIA | IRENE KULL 777 harm to the health of a traveller (§ 878(2) LOA). Estonia used the possibility provided in the Art. 14(4) of the Directive to allow limitation of the compensation to be paid by a service provider including also linked travel arrangement providers. According to § 878(3) of the LOA, a trader who operates as a tour operator, retailer or individual provider of travel services constituting a part of linked travel arrangements may limit the liability for any damage as long as it does not apply to personal injury or damage caused intentionally or with negligence to three times the amount of the price of the package. In addition, obligation to provide assistance provided for in Art. 16 of the Directive has been transposed verbatim into § 878 1 of the LOA. 3.7. Insolvency protection The Member States in which the organisers are established shall ensure that the organisers have a guarantee in case of insolvency for the reimbursement of payments made by and for the passengers and, where the package includes the carriage of passengers, for the repatriation of the passenger or where possible to offer continuation of the package 42 . Changes in the definitions and scope of the application of the Directive required the adaptation of insolvency protection systems to the new requirements. At the same time, Member States retained the right of discretion how to organize the protection against insolvency of travel organisers. One of the most important changes made in the course of transposition of the Directive was adaption of the principle of the liability of organiser for the performance of travel package contract (§ 877(1) of the LOA). Having taken into consideration the economic effect of the possible obligation of retailers to provide extended insolvency protection, in the course of transposing the Directive the exemption of travel agents from insolvency protection requirements has been implemented. The main reason for such decision was the economic argument that widening of the requirement of providing security would have resulted in a total guarantee requirement of approximately EUR 8 million for the market share of retailers. On the other hand, for travel agencies, the loss of the intermediary’s collateral obligation estimated to have a positive economic impact of approximately 0.25-0.3% of their sales revenue (assuming that 80% of the travel agents are currently subject to a collateral obligation) 43 . In accordance 42 Directive, Art. 17(1). 43 Explanatory memorandum to the draft Act from 2017, p. 5. Available only in Estonian at: https://www. riigikogu.ee/tegevus/eelnoud/eelnou/b908028a-c6ca-42b7-bdc3-cc9eced8997d (2.08.2019).