Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

934 COLLECTIVE COMMENTARY ABOUT THE NEW PACKAGE TRAVEL DIRECTIVE Finally, it is important to highlight that the new regime introduces different terms for the prescription of the organiser’s compensation obligation: the right to compensation for personal injury and damage due to ruined vacation shall be extinguished after three years, starting from the date of return of the traveller to the place of departure (respectively, articles 43, par. 8, and art. 46, par. 2, of the Tourism Code); the right to the reduction of the price or to compensation for damages other than those to the person shall be extinguished, instead, after two years, starting from the same terms (art. 43, par. 7, of the same Code). The Italian legislator has also made an interesting attempt to align the statute of limitations established by the Tourism Code for personal injuries with those prescribed by other legal provisions governing individual travel services, so as not to compromise the possibility of the tour operator to make claims against the relative supplier 93 . Inthis sense, inorder toalignthe expirydateof the respective compensation obligations, it was opportunely established that the traveller’s right to compensation for personal injury shall be extinguished in the longest period provided for by the provisions governing the individual services included in the package. 8. THE “INTERMEDIATE TRAVEL CONTRACT” AND THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE RETAILER ACCORDING TO ITALIAN LAW The intermediate travel contract regulations and the retailer’s liability, found in Section VII “ Retailer’s liability ” (articles 50-51- quater of the Tourism Code) 94 , constitutes one of the most original features of the new rules on the subject of package travel. The Italian legislator has worked within the limits set by the Directive (EU) 2015/2302, fully taking advantage of the margins established by art. 13, par. 1, comma 2, of the European Union legislation, which states that “Member States may maintain or introduce in their national law provisions under which the retailer is also responsible for the performance of the package”. Faithful to national legal tradition, art. 50 of the Tourism Code identifies the relation between traveller and retailer as an autonomous “intermediate travel 93 The fact that the alignment of the prescription terms refers only to the compensation obligation resulting from the liability of the organiser for damages to the person is probably explained by the fact that on the occasion of the cause of other damages often operates a short limitation period, also considering the fact that the two-year deadline set by the current art. 43, par. 7, of the Tourism Code lengthens the annual limitation period established previously by the abrogated art. 45, par. 3, of the same Code. 94 See I. Malaguti, Sub artt. 50 e 51-quater , e A. Montesano Sub artt. 51-51-ter , in D.lgs. 23 maggio 2011, n. 79, Codice del turismo , cit., pp. 1369 e 1385.