Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

ITALY | FRANCESCO MORANDI 945 Activities and Tourism – Tourism Directorate 124 the central contact point to facilitate administrative cooperation and monitoring of the organisers and retailers operating in countries other than the European Union. 10. ADMINISTRATIVE PROTECTION From an administrative protection point of view, in compliance with the provisions established by art. 25 of the Directive (EU) 2015/2302, the legislative transposition decree introduces a new system of sanctions against the organiser or the retailer that violate the legal provisions, providing for a detailed system of financial penalties, both principal and incidental, with regard to non-compliance with the regulations on organized tourism contracts. The creation of a special regime responds to the need to offer coverage on possible violations of the legal provisions to complement the ordinary contractual remedies and effectively supports the European Union legislator’s request, which obliges the Member States to introduce, into their respective legal systems, effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions 125 . Actually, the protection system envisaged by the national legislator is rather complex and stretches out at various levels, made evident by the “reserve clause” that accompanies the new types of administrative offenses introduced by art. 51- septies of the Tourism Code. The administrative penalties for violations regarding organized tourism contracts apply to the professional, the organiser or the retailer “unless the fact constitutes a crime”, “constitute a type of administrative offense sanctioned by regional laws” 126 or gives rise to “improper commercial 124 According to D.P.C.M. 8 February 2019, No. 25, the national administrative functions in the field of tourism have been reallocated at the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, reorganised as “Ministry of Agricultural, Food, Forestry and Tourism Policies”, pursuant to art. 1, par. 9, of Decree-Law 12 July 2018, No. 86, converted, with amendments, by the Law of 9 August 2018, No. 97. In this regard, see the contrary opinion of the Council of State expressed the opinion n. 2957 – Deal n. 02107_2018, of the 28 December 2018, and the critical reflection by M. Malo, Il turismo, ciliegina sulla torta del Ministero delle politiche agricole alimentari e forestali , in Riv. it. dir. tur. , 2019, p. 5. 125 For a first analysis see F. Cecchini, Sub artt. 51-septies-51-novies , in D.lgs. 23 maggio 2011, n. 79, Codice del turismo , cit., p. 1412. 126 According to the art. 51- novies of the Tourism Code, the Regions provide for effective, proportionate and dissuasive administrative sanctions for violations of the provisions on package travel contracts, within the scope of the functions reserved to them pursuant to articles 117 and 118 of the Constitution.