Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

880 COLLECTIVE COMMENTARY ABOUT THE NEW PACKAGE TRAVEL DIRECTIVE Provide Security in Respect of Packages; 7.1.3. Requirement to Provide Security in Respect of LinkedTravel Arrangements; 7.1.4. Notification Obligations; 7.1.5. Nature of Security to Be Provided in Respect of Packages and Linked Travel Arrangements; 7.1.6. Travel Agents Acting as Retailers; 7.2. Article 18 – Mutual Recognition of Insolvency Protection and Administrative Cooperation; 7.2.1. Commission for Aviation Regulation’s Note for Travel Agents, Tour Operators, Retailers, Organisers and Facilitators of Linked Travel Arrangements; 7.2.1.1. Traders established in Ireland; 7.2.1.2. Traders established in a Member State; 7.2.1.3. Traders established outside of the European Union; 7.2.2. Article 18(2) – Designated central contact point; 8. Chapter VII – General Provisions; 8.1. Article 24 – Enforcement; 9. Concluding Comments. FOREWORD Directive (EU) 2015/2302 on Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements (“the Directive”) 2 , has not generally been perceived, by the Irish travel trade industry, as a sea change, either in terms of the scope of the Directive or the responsibilities of organisers of packages. Perhaps this is in part owing to the members of the Irish travel trade industry being forerunners in adapting to the changes, which have occurred in the distribution system for travel services, since the adoption of the Directive 90/314 on Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours (“the 1990 Directive”) 3 . Irish travel businesses have been organising packages for quite some time, and have generally accepted that it was prudent to construe the definition of a package broadly. When the European Commission (“the Commission”) embarked on the revision of the 1990 Directive, one of its stated aims was to capture “ click- -throughs ”, thereby creating a more level playing field, for consumers and travel businesses alike. On this basis, the revision was mostly welcomed by the Irish travel trade industry. However, that enthusiasm has been tempered in light of the relative ease whereby traders can stay outside the scope of the Directive due to the perceived “ watering down ” of the definitions of click-throughs and linked travel arrangements 4 . 2 Directive EU 2015/2302 on Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements [2015] OJ /L326/1. 3 Directive EEC 90/314 on Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours [1990] OJ L158/59. 4 Directive EU 2015/2302 on Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements [2015] OJ /L326/1 Articles 3(2) and (5).