Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

José Ángel Torres Lana 1 1. Introduction; 2. Misleading title; 3. A dual objective; 4. Approximation of legal frameworking and scope of application. 1. It is advisable when embarking on a systematic commentary of a norm – and a European Directive must be qualified as a norm – to start at the end and state that art. 29 of Directive 2015/2302 repeals the previous Directive, numbered 90/314, which governs the same matters as the Directive now being examined, i.e. package travel. The repeal is express and complete, which means that Directive 90/314 has been replaced in full by Directive 2015/2302. However, the first paragraph of the recitals of the Directive currently in force acknowledges that Directive 90/314 made an effective contribution towards increasing the number of consumer rights in package travel, particularly with regard to the information provided and to the liability of traders in the event of the insolvency of travel organisers or retailers. Nevertheless, it states that it is necessary to adapt the legislative framework to take into consideration the market developments, in order to make it more suitable for the internal market, to remove ambiguities and to close legislative gaps. It is true that tourism has experienced a spectacular growth in recent years. Just a few decades ago, it was impossible to imagine the economic and social importance that it would acquire. And this increased importance requires a legislative response. A regulation of this activity. The first response, Directive 1990/314, represented an effective instrument in the regulation of the dominant form of tourism at that time, package holidays. However, this form has become outdated and now falls short of requirements. Therefore, new Directive 2015/2302 was enacted. A comparison of the two texts perfectly expresses the acknowledgement by the European legislator of the importance of the phenomenon. In effect, the current Directive is much broader and detailed than the one from 1990. The 10 articles of the latter have become 31 in the present text, with three annexes, two of which are quite long and have been divided into various parts. However, this greater length does not mean that the 1 Emeritus Professor of Civil Law. University of the Balearic Islands.