Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

900 COLLECTIVE COMMENTARY ABOUT THE NEW PACKAGE TRAVEL DIRECTIVE 9. CONCLUDING COMMENTS As stated at the opening of this Chapter, the changes brought about as a consequence of the transposition of the Directive in Ireland were nowhere near the scale of those which occurred with the implementation of the 1990 Directive. In so far as hopes had been raised in the travel industry, that a level playing field would be delivered, stakeholders are yet to be convinced. Stakeholders’ hopes have been further dashed, with the reform of the licensing regime and the associated bonds not having taken place in tandem with the transposition of the Directive. The reform of the licensing and bonding scheme is yet to be concluded. It remains to be seen what impact, if any, the reforms to the licensing and bonding scheme will have on the transposition of Chapters V and VI of the Directive. The interplay between licensable turnover and turnover requiring protection for the purposes of the Directive, has produced anomalies which have given rise and will most likely continue to give rise to confusion and arguably instances of double protection, until such time as the reform of the licensing and bonding scheme is completed. At the time of writing, organisers have serious concerns in relation to the costs of compliance, in particular, the costs of and indeed the sourcing of organiser liability insurance, which have become significant. The liability regime provided for under the Directive is predicated somewhat on the assumption that organisers will be in a position to recover from the relevant supplier, the costs which organisers incur, in relation to claims for the improper performance of the travel services included in the contract. However, recoveries from suppliers have proven to be extremely challenging, with organisers finding it increasingly difficult to secure contractual indemnities from suppliers and where indemnities are in place, to successfully enforce such indemnities. As is invariably the case with consumer protection measures, the challenge is always in finding a balance that will allow traders continue to deliver the valuable consumer protections afforded by the Directive.