Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

FRANCE | EMMANUELLE LLOP 801 Its liability is limited by a two-year limitation period under the International Conventions. Finally, the LTA does not automatically involve the responsibility of the professional who facilitates it, provided that he has taken steps to clearly inform the traveller at the pre-contractual stage; each professional will only be responsible in accordance with the common law applicable to his activity (Article L. 211-3) and for the proper contractual performance of his service. Thus, in the absence of specific information to the traveller and a financial guarantee against his insolvency, the professional facilitating a LTA will also be subject to the strict liability attached to the proper performance of the travel service. In France, strict liability for the sale of packages or isolated services is thus maintained, to the dismay of professionals and their representative bodies but to the great satisfaction of consumer associations, who consider it an acquired right: French professionals are used to it. But maintaining this represents a heavy economic burden for professionals, who must therefore be insured accordingly, considering the new obligations for professionals stemming from the PTD, combined with the new rights of travellers such as, in a nutshell: the justification of cancellation fees, the prior offer form and sometimes unattainable indications such as flight schedules, the language of the services or the adaptation of the trip to people with reduced mobility, the payment of replacement costs, the client’s considerations about cancelling his trip in the event of unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances at the destination, their right to replace the services reported as non-compliant by themselves, etc. Tourism law practitioners can only hope that the practice – and case law – will show some wisdom in their application of this new and rather binding law whose implementation, even for professionals already familiar with the consequences, carries a heavy responsibility.