Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

GERMANY | ERNST FÜHRICH 833 B) Full harmonisation of the Directive The Directive approaches full harmonisation in Art. 4 PTD 29 . Unless otherwise provided in the Directive, Member States are barred from introducing any deviating provisions in their national laws. As a consequence, there is the question of whether a tourism company can make its consumer protection higher than the standard of the Directive. The concept of full harmonisation is based on the idea of the Union having no grey areas, in all Member States, regarding tourism in the common market 30 . The cross-border dimension of the package holiday travel has to normalise the standards of a package 31 . Therefore making a package out of a single travel service is against the objetive of the Directive 32 , and because there is a possible disadvantage for the consumer, in 2018, some big tour operators removed from it 33 . Today, only Ameuropa applies §§ 651a-y BGB to single services. 4. “Mehrwertpaket” as “other tourist service” (1) Combination with service package . Other tour operators, such as TUI and DER Touristik, combine their single services (not Fly only) with a “Mehrwertpaket” 34 . This other tourist service, within the meaning of Art. 3 No. 1 lit d PTD, combines a single service, such as a hotel accommodation or a holiday home, with a service product (crisis management, travel guide, hotline) and sells it as a real package. This service product is only an “other tourist service” if it accounts for a significant proportion of the value of the combinations is not advertised as, nor otherwise represents an essential feature of the combination (Art. 3 No. 2 lit b PTD) 35 . (2) Minimum percentage of 25%. The German law, in § 651a IV 2 BGB, contains the minimum value limit of 25% to describe the phrase “significant proportion of the value of the package”. This is important, if the traveller books, in addition to a hotel accommodation, any travel services such as sport events, concerts, rail & fly, ski passes, excursions or spa treatments. The PTD contains 29 Führich, NJW 2016, 1204, 1205. 30 Recital 2 PTD. 31 Recitals 5, 6 PTD. 32 Führich, NJW 2018, 2926, 2927; Führich/Staudinger, Reiserecht, § 12 Rn. 4, 21; § 28 Rn. 4. 33 Thomas Cook, Oliver, FTI, Vtours. 34 Führich, NJW 2018, 2926, 2928. 35 Führich, NJW 2018, 2926, 2928; Führich, Basiswissen Reiserecht, Rn. 24; Führich/Staudinger, Reiserecht, § 5 Rn 8.